Through the Looking Glass: Pennance
by Herr Wozzeck
Summary: One thing unifies their souls; a darkness that could only be pierced by the revealing needle of friendship. No one is beyond redemption, no matter how far they've fallen.
1. Prologue

Let's begin a new story!

So, evening, KFP/StH fans! This is the beginning of a fic I thought up while writing something else. First things first; if you want to fully understand/appreciate this story, I suggest you check out this fic's predecessor, _Through the Looking Glass_. You can find it in the Sonic the Hedgehog/Banjo-Kazooie crossovers. You'll see what I mean there.

So, yeah, that's important for build-up reasons that only I will be able to tell thee! We get a quick recap of my proposed timeline, but you'll see how things work in a bit.

So, this is essentially a tale of people finding redemption. Not sure what else to say, really, so let's go on to the disclaimers:

Sonic the Hedgehog, it's characters, Station Square, and the Chaos Emeralds do not belong to me; they belong to the guys at Sega and Sonic Team. Likewise, Kung Fu Panda, its characters, the Jade Palace, and the Valley of Peace don't belong to me; they belong to the guys at Dreamworks. However, some things are mine, and a few others aren't that don't belong to either Sega or Dreamworks; I'll disclaim those later to avoid spoiling a few plot details.

So, without further ado, I present this!

* * *

**Through the Looking Glass: Pennance**

Prologue

There is a story of a bear, Banjo, and a bird, Kazooie, who saved the world from the machinations of a doctor. With help from a bat that appeared in his dreams, the bear and the bird managed to defeat a doctor, stop his plans, and save the world. Banjo also got to meet the bat, whom he had fallen in love with over the course of his journey, and a new set of friends as well to converse with.

However, this came with a price; the death of Sonic the Hedgehog, savior of the world many times over who had defended the world against Dr. Ivo Robotnick. The doctor had killed Sonic using his own best friend as a tool before the bear was able to save him. The friend, Tails, grieved horrifically.

This happened two years ago.

He disappeared shortly after Sonic had died for reasons unknown, and without his friends' knowledge. As far as Miles 'Tails' Prower knew, he was alone.

* * *

There is a story of a panda who was proclaimed the Dragon Warrior by the great kung fu master Oogway. The panda was deemed unfit, unworthy, useless by so many others. And yet, he was able to rise to a level of unbelievable kung fu mastery very quickly. With his skill, he defeated the notorious criminal Tai Lung, who had lusted after the legendary Dragon Scroll for 20 years of rotting in prison.

However, this came with a price; Tai Lung had a great blow dealt to his ego. Not only was he defeated by a more worthy foe, but he was unable to understand the secret of the Dragon Scroll. As he was taken away to the Chor Gum Prison, bitterness seeped into his being as he grieved his own loss.

This happened one year ago.

He disappeared very recently from the Chor Gum Prison, in such a stealthy manner as to puzzle the guards. As far as Tai Lung knew, he was alone.

* * *

Both souls have a different background. Both have different friends. Both are as far removed from each other in terms of personality as they could be.

And yet, one thing unifies their souls; a darkness that could only be pierced by the revealing needle of friendship.

Thus, begins a story of two unlikely friends and their equally unintended quest for redemption.

This story is currently happening.


	2. Miles: Chapter 1

And after that bit of slightly pointless exposition, here's the start of the fic.

And before you ask, no, Miles is NOT an original character. You'll see why I refer to 'Tails' as 'Miles' in a minute.

With that out of the way... Let's go!

* * *

Miles: Chapter 1

Miles Prower walked through the strange landscape, alone. He had changed quite a bit since he had left Station Square two years ago.

He was rather lean as he walked in a plain with only a few trees to provide him with company. His orange fur was a bit dirty at places, but he knew that it was because he had not come across a stream in the past few days. His eyes were considerably dim as he looked down at the ground, their blue color lost in a strange brand of melancholy that very few people had known. His two tails swished behind him softly as he walked, their sound being his only companion as he moved around.

He had also taken to wearing clothes after a certain point, too; now he wore a simple burgundy vest. On his shoulders he carried a small travel pack that he had acquired a year ago from an overly kind stranger, along with so many tools that the kitsune was now incredibly grateful that he had wondering in an area that had no people in it.

He had no set destination in mind.

The kitsune simply walked on.

He had stopped calling himself Tails; he had begun giving people his given name of Miles Prower ever since the incident two years ago. It made him feel slightly better about himself; every time he thought of the name that Sonic had given him long ago, he would tear up, and he could scarcely speak for the rest of the day.

However, with no company by him, he was in rather good hands for the rest of the day.

And as he walked along, looking for even a stream to stop for the day, he looked on, melancholic eyes gazing at the soft ground in front of him. Only the slight swish of his tails in the wind and the soft patting of his steps against the earth beneath him were his company, and he sighed softly as he moved on.

* * *

He finally did come to a stream just as the sun was setting. The kitsune set his pack down, sitting by the edge of the river as he pulled lightly on the one article of clothing that he had on. He looked out into the small body of water as it meandered its way above the earth.

Fortunately, there was a lone tree sitting by this stream, so Miles knew he would be shaded in the morning. Waking up at the same time the sun rose was never any fun at all; Miles knew that fact all too well.

Slowly, he took a reusable water bottle out of his pack as he looked listlessly down at the water. He untwisted the cap slowly, and then he dipped the bottle itself into the stream. The water flowed in, and as soon as there was a satisfiable amount in the container, he lifted it and screwed the cap shut before storing it in his bag. He leaned over the water, removing his gloves carefully. When his gloves were off, he cupped his hands together, and brought some water up to his mouth. He drank slowly, savoring what little taste there was.

As he knelt down to wash his face, however, he thought he heard something heavy fall behind him. Turning his head around quickly, he was startled to see a fairly burly snow leopard at the brink of going unconscious right behind him. The stranger seemed to stare longingly at him with piercing yellow eyes, reaching a paw out to him before passing out right in front of the kitsune's eyes.

Miles blinked uncertainly, not sure what to make of this as he stood up. He slowly worked his way to the snow leopard's side, taking note of the fact that he was not wearing a shirt but was wearing pants. Rolling the creature over so that he was on his back, the kitsune did a quick check of his body. When he opened the leopard's mouth and saw that the toungue was swollen, however, he instantly came to a conclusion.

_He's severely dehydrated..._ he thought to himself. _If I don't do something, he could die..._

Looking at his pack, he nodded softly. Standing up and dragging the snow leopard to a sitting position with his back against the tree, he dove into his pack and took out his water. Unscrewing the cap and opening the cat's mouth slowly, he poured some of the liquid into the cat's mouth, nodding in satisfaction as his ragged breathing seemed to return to normal.

The kitsune filled his bottle and poured its contents into the stranger's muzzle at least four more times before nodding in satisfaction. The sun had set by this point, and the tired kitsune lay his head on his pack and fell asleep on the ground.

* * *

When he woke up the next morning, the sun was just rising over the horizon. An orange light bathed the world as the fox sat up from where he had been sleeping rather peacefully the night before. Looking over to where the leopard was still sleeping with his back to the tree, he nodded slowly.

_He's in good hands..._ he thought.

And slowly, just as the sun was beginning to rise over the remaining height of the mountain that was blocking it, the leopard stirred slightly. He then opened his eyes slightly, looking down at the kitsune that had saved his life.

"Wha..." asked the leopard in a soft baritone that had lost some of its bravado somehow. "Where... Am I dead?"

"Close enough," replied Miles with a shrug, surprising himself with how deep his voice had gotten in the past two years. "You were severely dehydrated when you found your way over. If you had spent another day like that, you would've died."

The leopard shook his head bitterly. "Leave it to those guys at the Chohr Gom Prison to nearly kill you..." he said weakly.

Miles, who had been bending over the stream trying to get a drink of water for himself, sputtered and turned to the leopard. "Prison?" he asked. "Prison wardens did that?"

"Yeah..." replied the leopard, bitterness seeping from his voice. "I rampage once, they put me in prison. I escape and get captured, and not only do they put me in prison, but they only give me one meal per day and one drink of water every two days..."

The kitsune was disturbed more by the fact that the treatment of this man was horrible than he was what the leopard could have possibly done. "That's... that's cruelty!" he said.

The cat chuckled mirthlessly after Miles said this. "I wish the rest of China could agree with that," he said. "You don't seem to know who I am."

"I've been traveling the world..." replied the fox softly. "So no, I wouldn't know. I didn't even know that anybody actually lived in this place until recently."

"Huh," said the cat. "Most would shudder in fear at the name 'Tai Lung'. You've heard of me, no doubt?"

Miles blinked before turning over to the predatory cat. "Maybe once or twice," replied the kitsune as he probed his mind for any memories of innkeepers mentioning Tai Lung. "I don't know. They tell me that you just went on a rampage and that you also tried to steal the Dragon Scroll."

"So you have heard of me." The cat shifted where he sat, eyeing Tails as he tried to stand.

"Oh, no no no!" said Miles, jumping up and easing Tai Lung back against the tree softly. "You should get some rest before you try that. You've gotta be exhausted after all those guards did to you..."

As the snow leopard felt his back touch the hard bark again, he sighed softly. "Good to see someone who cares enough," he said.

"I've done worse than what they said you did..." said the kitsune softly, his gaze averting back to the stream. "And before you ask, no, I don't want to talk about it. It's... it's too painful for me to talk about..."

Tai Lung simply glanced at the fox out of the corner of his eye. "You've got my interest," he said. "But since you saved my life, I don't think I should ask. It's the least I can do."

"Thanks," Miles replied, dipping his hands in the water. "So, you're Tai Lung?"

"Yes," Tai Lung said, smiling. "And you are...?"

"Miles Prower." This was said almost too much to the point as the fox turned around, still wearing a morose expression on his face. "Nice to meet you..."

"Same here," said the cat as he looked at the two-tailed fox. "You... You've been the only person who's been kind to me..."

"You're asking if you can come along with me, I guess?" Miles asked, uncertainty playing with his voice a bit. "I... Well, to be honest I've never had a constant companion in a long time..."

Tai Lung shrugged softly. "Well, you seem to be a nice kid."

"I'm sixteen, thank you," replied the kitsune with a biting cynicism that caught the cat off guard. "But I'm worried about what will come after you... And I did just meet you... And... I really am not sure... if I should, you know?"

Tai Lung shrugged. "I don't know why I asked either," he admitted softly. "But... I don't know, you just look like you could use a little company. I know _I_ could use some; I've been alone for the past twenty-one years. You're the only person in that time who's really talked to me without hating me... And I could use that. Please?"

Miles sighed uncertainly. "I don't know," he said. "I... the last time I made a friend..." He shook his head, finding it hard to continue. "You don't want to know. And I really don't want to talk about it. Long story short, bad things have happened to those that I've known really well."

"Bah, I've had bad things happen to me already," replied Tai Lung reassuringly. "Please. You would abandon a man who's been alone for twenty-one years?"

Here, the kitsune groaned, still unsure of what to do but finally making a decision. "All right," he said. "But we're just travel companions. And that's that."

Tai Lung smiled, his fangs betraying a certain quality of deception that Miles was unable to read. "Thanks," he said softly. "I... I hope you don't mind that I'm on a quest for revenge..."

"Why?" asked the kitsune.

"I have... business I want to attend to with my father," replied the snow leopard craftily as he shifted against the tree that he laid behind. "I do have some things I'd like to say to him and his student."

Although the kitsune was very confused, he decided that he had taken in enough information for a day. He was sure Tai Lung would reveal everything if he was given time to do so. Slowly, he turned and nodded. "We'll be staying here until you get better, though," he said. "Which should be by at least the end of the day, so don't worry about staying in the same place too long.

Tai Lung seemed satisfied with this answer, and as Miles dipped his bottle into the water he nodded and laid back against the tree that he was propped against.


	3. Cream: Chapter 1

Okay, so Miles is depressed, Tai Lung is angry and out for revenge. The tale of these two begins...

...but before I start their quest for whatever, let's talk about something else for a minute. What's that, you say? Yeah, we're going to another major character's POV. And no, it's not Tai Lung.

So, I'll let you be shocked, and let's begin!

* * *

Cream: Chapter 1

Cream held the map in her hand nervously as she set her bright beige eyes on the small town in front of her. She looked over all of the buildings that were in the town, watching a multitude of townspeople running around doing their last duties of the day as the sun set in the horizon. There was no doubt in her mind that she was at the right place. It looked peaceful... exactly the kind of place that looked like a refuge to runaways.

_"Evening, miss. How may I help you today?"_

_"Evening. Do you have a room available?"_

_"Of course, dear. Do you mind where it is, or...?"_

_"I really could care less. I'm not really here for seeing the view so much as I am searching for somebody. Tell me, have you seen the person in this photo?"_

Cream thumbed through the pocket of the pants she had acquired during the two years she had been chasing after Tails, and when her thumb rested on the portrait of Tails that she always carried around, she took it out and took one glance at the fox that was there. Looking up and crossing her arms over her red shirt, the teenage rabbit walked into the town.

_"I'm afraid not, Miss. I'm sorry, but this inn has not had many tenants lately, and unfortunately I haven't seen this face either."_

_"Oh, dear... I think I might've lost track of him."_

_"Oh, I dunno about that. Is he a runaway?"_

_"Yes, sir..."_

_"Aha! I know just the place that can help you with that!"_

_"You do?"_

_"Certainly! It will take an entire day's trek to get there by foot, though, so I hope you're an early riser!"_

_"Oh, don't worry about that! Now, where is this place?"_

Cream walked through the town, watching all manner of rabbits and pigs move about as they closed their market. Everything was only slightly frantic, and Cream found herself dodging people more than she would have liked.

It was not until she felt her weight bump straight into something else that she was snapped out of her reverie quite disturbingly. Grunting, she fell on the ground in a sitting position. Rubbing her head lightly, she realized she had bumped into an old goose that was struggling around with a noodle cart.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!" cried the rabbit girl, instantly standing up and helping the old goose to his feet. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," said the goose nervously. "You looked like you were thinking of something, so I didn't see it fit to think like that."

"Still..." said the rabbit girl. "I... I shouldn't have been thinking like that! I hope I didn't do too much damage!"

Looking around his cart, the goose shook hise head as he glanced all over it. "Nope, everything is fine," he said. "You look new here. It's always good to see new faces. Always good for business, you know?"

"Oh?" asked Cream, a little taken by surprise by the sudden change of subject. "Oh, uh... actually, I was heading to the Jade Palace...?"

"Oh, you're going to see my lovely son?" asked the goose, his features lighting up in glee as he brought his wigs together.

Perplexed, the rabbit raised one of her eyebrows. "Your son?" she asked.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly. "My son is the Dragon Warrior!"

"He is?" asked the rabbit. "Wow, I never would've guessed. But no, I'm actually here to find a friend... He ran away from home, so I'm trying to find him."

"Oh!" said the goose, a little surprised. "Well, he will still be able to help you. My son is a good man. I brought him up well, I did!"

Cream nodded with a smile on her face. "I'm looking forward to meeting him then. I'll send him your regards, Mr... uh...?"

"Ping," finished the goose with a satisfied wink. "And you are...?"

"Cream," she said somewhat gingerly. "Cream the Rabbit. A pleasure, Mr. Ping."

The goose nodded. "I do wish you luck in finding your friend! I'm sure my son and the Furious Five will be more than willing to help you!"

"Thank you for telling me about him," said the rabbit. "I'm sorry to take up your time."

"It is no problem at all," reassured Mr. Ping pleasantly. "I'll be on my way then. Good luck, and may good fortune be with you!"

"Same to you!" Cream replied as Mr. Ping picked up his noodle cart and walked away.

The rabbit's gaze was trained on the noodle cart as it was carried away.

"What a nice man..." she muttered, more to herself than anybody else. "I'll bet the Dragon Warrior is a great person!"

Turning around, she suddenly noticed a stairway that seemed to come at the end of the road. Looking up, the rabbit thought she could see the outline of a grand temple at the top of the staircase.

Looking at this, she nodded. "This must be it," she muttered to herself.

_"It's the Jade Palace. Here's a map of this country. Now, what you want to do is you want to go to where the Valley of Peace is. The Jade Palace should be atop a huge set of stairs. It's really hard to miss. All the runaways I've known have been trying to get to that point, and even if it's not their ultimate destination, I'm sure the people there would be more than willing to help and give you a place to stay while you wait."_

_"And... And what should be there?"_

_"You'll find the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five up there, along with their master. They are the strongest kung fu warriors in all of China, and they teach young children how to defend themselves while also providing refuge for runaways. Even if they have never seen your friend, they are also excellent trackers and I'm sure they will be able to find him in no time."_

_"Oh, thank you so much for the help, sir!"_

_"Don't mention it. I just hope to see another person reunited with friends and family."_

_"I dunno; I've been following his trail for two years now and I still haven't found any signs of being close to him."_

_"Well, then again, you can't go wrong with the Furious Five. I'm sure your journey will end soon."_

_"I hope so. Thanks for all the help!"_

_"No problem. Oh, and the room is five gold tonight, so you don't forget."_

Cream had ascended the staircase, her long ears flopping a little behind her as she found herself in front of a great temple with open doors. She looked into a palace with its walls shining of jade. She saw a small pool at the far end of the temple as she entered it, the pool giving off an ethereal green light. Above the pool sat a stone dragon head mounted on the ceiling, a scroll situated in the dragon's maw. As she entered, she saw a small gong over to the side that seemed to be of very small use.

Looking around, the rabbit's eyes wandered the hall, awestruck at the sheer beauty of the place they were in. However, upon an immediate glance she saw nobody there. She figured this to be a function of the fact that the sun was now barely over the horizon, twilight already beginning to settle onto the sky.

The gong that she had noticed upon entering caught her attention. Shrugging and deciding it was the only way to get somebody's attention, she walked over to the instrument. Picking up the beater gingerly, she looked at it for a second before whirling around. The gong then let out a loud boom, the sound reverberating in the space that the palace occupied as Cream instantly dropped the beater and covered her ears.

Her eyes remained open, though, and suddenly her ears picked up the sound of footfalls on the floor as the gong's noise died away slowly. Opening eyes that she hadn't realized she had closed, she looked in front of her and found a rather small person standing in front of her, almost as if he had appeared there magically. Taking note of the red robe he wore, Cream uncovered her ears and looked down at the person who looked a lot older than she did.

"Uh... Hi..." she said, realizing that his glance was making her more nervous than she had any right to be.

"I see you must be nervous," said the small creature simply. "You're a runaway, I assume?"

"Uh, not really..." said Cream, gulping softly as she thumbed through her pocket for her picture of Tails. "But I am looking for one." She got a hold of the picture in between her index and middle fingers, and then she took the portrait out, holding it out in front of the red and white furred creature in front of her. "Tell me; have you seen this person?"

The creature's gaze went right to the photo before he took the photo out of her hand gingerly. Listlessly, he looked at the portrait, almost as if this had been second nature to him. After about five seconds of this intent gaze, the person in front of her shook his head.

"No, I haven't," he said simply. "Are you a parent?"

"Friend," she replied. "Nobody that knows him knew what became of his parents. He only had a brother figure, but he died. I still think he took it too hard."

"Nonsense..." replied the older person insightfully. "I have seen many runaways come here after a loved one of theirs dies. Usually, those runaways return home of their own volition after three days."

Cream shook her head. "I'm afraid this isn't one of those runaways," she admitted, sheepishly. "The circumstances behind the brother figure's death are really, really complicated. And I actually travelled the world for two years trying to find him, and he's never stayed in the same spot twice..."

Surprised, the rodent in front of her raised an eyebrow, his glance betraying his true amount of surprise. "Two years?" he asked. "That is an unusal case... What happened?"

Cream gulped uncertainly before shaking her head. "I shouldn't tell you," she said earnestly. "Again, it's complicated. But I need to find him. He did something wrong, but I think running away for two years like this is the worst thing he could have done. And I need to find him, and I need to find him soon."

"Revenge is the path of the coward," recited the creature almost mechanically.

The rabbit was appropriately miffed like this, her fists clenching the slightest bit. "That's not what I meant," she replied sternly. "What he did was none of his fault. I'm trying to find him... so that my friends can forgive him. So that _I_ can forgive him. But he's gotten too hard to find..."

Here, Cream got on her knees, fighting back tears. "I've gone on a wild chase for some time..." she said. "And... I just want it to end. For his sake as well as mine... Please, sir, you have to help me... He's one of my best friends... and it breaks my heart to think what he might be doing..."

Having listened to the explanation, the old man nodded, a small smile coming to his face. "I see..." he began simply. "Very well. But I cannot promise to make it a priority. Our priority is to China first and then to the runaways. So if something happens that threatens the peace, then we will pull back on the search for this friend of yours."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Cream exclaimed, bowing down to the man she had only just met. "I'm Cream by the way..."

"I am Xang Li Shifu," replied the older man as he began walking in a particular direction. "Come. We have some dormitories this way. The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior should get to know you."

And with this, Shifu simply walked away, Cream standing up and following him slowly as they exited the temple and climbed up a long, winding path up the mountain.

* * *

"Oh, so you met Mr. Ping?"

"Yeah. He was a very nice man, he was. I... I still can't believe that he's your father."

"Niether can I, Cream. Niether can I."

Cream had been introduced to the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five shortly before they had all sat for dinner. The rabbit was considered the guest of honor, so she sat with the Dragon Warrior to her right and Shifu to her left.

She was utterly shocked and surprised to find that the Dragon Warrior that Mr. Ping had spoken so positively about was a fat panda by the name of Po. She was quickly silenced by the respect he earned from the Furious Five and Shifu, however, and he really was a very nice man, so she decided to see how the warrior performed. The panda was currently busy at work cooking up some noodles for the night.

Down the table she saw the rest of the Furious Five, whom she thought had the most redundant names of all; Tigress was appropriately a tigress, Viper was a snake, Mantis was... a cricket, but she tried not to dwell on the fact that he was actually something else entirely, Monkey was of course a monkey, and Crane was of course a crane. She would have found herself hard-pressed to think of the animal kingdom again without one of them coming to mind, but as it was she decided to play along with it as a name was something she knew she could not change.

"Still, you have a good upbringing," said Cream, continuing the conversation. "It's always good to have good parents."

"Speaking of that, aren't your own parents worried sick about you right now?" asked Mantis from where he sat across the table.

Cream shrugged. "I never knew my father..." she said, glancing at the ceiling temporarily. "But yeah, I'm sure my mom is worried sick. I wrote back to her at least three times a week before I came here, and I did say why I probably wouldn't be sending anything the last time I was able to send something, but still..."

"You definitely don't sound like your average runaway, that's for sure," commented Tigress across from where the praying mantis sat as she rapped her fingers lightly against the table.

"Well, again, I'm looking for a friend that ran away," replied the rabbit... "I hope he's been taking care of himself..."

It was then that the panda had started parading around the table, dropping a few noodles into the bowls that were out in front of everyone. "I'm sure he has," he said reassuringly. "If he managed to survive outrunning you for two years, then he's taking care of himself."

Cream nodded as Po dropped some noodles into her bowl carefully. "I hope he's okay..."

"Then why not just tell us the nature of what he did?" asked Tigress impatiently. "I think it'll spare us all--!"

"Master Tigress, please," said Cream, sighing. "I told you, it's a sensitive subject. Even after two years, it still gives me the creeps what happened on that day..."

Viper seemed to glance at the rabbit before speaking. "And why not tell us about it now? I would think it would be easier to handle if you did not keep bottle it within yourself."

"Well, that's the other thing," replied the rabbit. "I wasn't the only one to see it. And I know I'm not the only one to hear about it as well. So there's nothing for me to bottle up. If I want to tell you, I'll tell you."

"Yeah, and then you'll tell us when the Yangtze River dries out two years after it's happened," quipped Mantis quickly, earning a chuckle from Monkey.

In reply, Cream shot the nastiest glare she could manage at the insect. The glare alone was enough to shock Monkey into a quick silence, the mantis rearing back a little as Cream's gaze seemed to penetrate his exoskeleton.

Crane shook his head as he took a hold of his chopsticks with his feet. "Could we leave her alone about it?" he asked slowly. "She obviously doesn't want to talk about it, and I don't think that pressing the issue is going to help when she finally does decide to tell. Let her come forward by herself."

Nodding appreciatively to the bird, the rabbit smiled. "Thank you, Master Crane," she said politely as she took a hold of her chopsticks gingerly. Slowly, she brought the chopsticks down to the bowl of noodles. Gingerly, she lifted the chopstick full of noodles up to her mouth.

The truth was, even with her small experience handling chopsticks, she was still a little unsure of how to eat noodles. She tried her best, however, gingerly taking the noodles in her mouth and tasting them.

"Mmm..." she said as she chewed and swallowed her food, looking at the remaining kung fu masters doing the same thing. "This is delicious!"

"Yep, Po is the best of the best," complimented Mantis. "What can I say about that?"

"Thanks..." replied the panda after he had swallowed his bite.

And they ate their dinner in silence as Cream pondered on the events that had taken place that day.


	4. Miles: Chapter 2

Right. So last time we met Cream.

So now that we have two storylines going simultaneously, let's see what Tai Lung and Miles are up to!

* * *

Miles: Chapter 2

_Streaks of wood from targets breaking off and fluttering into the air accompanied by a series of percussive noises._

_Then, cries of incredible pain, and the sick feeling of something surrounding him. He pushed forward again and again and again without pausing once. The owner of the cries began to whimper eventually._

_Flashes of blood, glass, and bits of bone flying right by. A weapon in his hand, ready to strike its next target._

_And then, the shocked emerald eyes of Sonic as they peered into him._

_Afterwards, the blood on his gloves as he cried out in anguish._

* * *

As always, Miles batted his eyes open.

Any normal person would have been absolutely frightened, but Miles had had the same recurring dream almost every night for two years. He had gotten so used to it he no longer sat up in fright every time he woke up. Partly, it was a relief.

Something within the kitsune told him that it was horrible that he had gotten so used to a dream he had become desensitized.

Miles shook his head as he sat up, groaning. Part of him felt he deserved that fate as he looked out into the barren earth ahead of him. After all, it was his fault that Sonic was dead; he deserved every hardball life threw at him.

"Ah, you're awake I see!"

The fox was startled out of his pensive state, finding Tai Lung standing with his hands on his hips. He looked like he had just been out looking for food as the fox stood up. Suddenly seeing a dead creature in the leopard's paws, the kitsune nodded.

"Yeah, I'm an early riser…" he said.

"I never would've guessed," replied Tai Lung simply as he set the dead animal in his hands down on the ground. "Still, all the better for me, I suppose. That means you won't be holding me down…"

Shaking his head grimly as thoughts of the blue hedgehog that used to be his best friend crossed his mind, Miles looked up. "Yeah, I guess that's a good thing, isn't it?" he asked.

Tai Lung's eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he took in the meaning of Miles' tone. However, he dropped it as he sat down. "It is," he said. "I just hope you can defend yourself too. I could fight for both of us, but that's something I really don't want to have to do."

"Eh, I know enough," replied the fox as he took the dead animal in his hand. "I'm not a fighter, though. I'm more of a… well… I make stuff. Or made, seeing as how I haven't made anything for a few years…"

Tai Lung's eyes showed quite a large amount of surprise at this revelation. "Huh," he said. "I never would have guessed you made weapons, either. It's too bad you don't have anything to make a weapon out of. Life is full of surprises."

"It sure is, Tai Lung…" commented Miles wryly as he fished through his pack for a carving knife. "It sure is…"

The predatory cat looked in surprise at his young companion. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"You wouldn't care," said the kitsune morosely as he began carving the dead creature open. "And again, it's related to what happened..."

Tai Lung found himself getting more and more curious, but again he decided to deny himself the pleasure of knowing as he noticed the morose tone in Miles' voice. "Right," he said as he kitsune listlessly gutted the creature that would serve as their breakfast. "I hope you don't mind--"

"Trust me, I could care less what we're having right now," Miles interrupted as he skinned the creature as well. "I haven't really had anything much to eat since I got here... I'll take anything."

"So you almost died like I did," pointed out Tai Lung.

Miles glanced at the snow leopard briefly before shaking his head. "Hunger and thirst work very differently," he replied. "You can survive for up to a month without food. Water, you can only survive for a matter of days without that. I'd say you were luckier on food in Chohr Gom than you were on water. You were treated like a king compared to what I had to do for food..."

And the conversation ended there as Tails finished skinning the creature and began cutting the chunks of meat off of the bone.

* * *

Later, Tai Lung was bounding through the landscape of China. Chohr Gom was quite a distance away from the Valley of Peace, and the snow leopard knew it would take at least two weeks to get there, even by leaps and bounds. Miles held on to Tai Lung's shoulders with all that he could as he moved across the landscape.

"Wow…" commented Miles. "You move quite fast…"

"Quite fast?" asked Tai Lung skeptically. "Why only that?"

"Eh…" replied the kitsune. "I had a friend who could run faster than this…"

Tai Lung raced ahead as he heard this. "Ah," he said. "That would make quite a bit of sense."

Miles nodded as he held on to the predatory cat. "You know, you never told me why you're so angry at this 'Dragon Warrior' or whatever!" exclaimed the fox. "You mind telling me sometime?"

Tai Lung was silent for a few seconds before he replied. "Of course," he said. "But only when we camp for the night!"

This answer seemed to satisfy the kitsune, so he simply held on to the snow leopard as they moved across the landscape quickly.

* * *

Miles poked at a small fire uncertainly under the cover of the tree that they had camped under for the night. Looking at Tai Lung as he stood leaning against the tree, the kitsune spok up.

"So, about the 'Dragon Warrior'," he began uncertainly. "What makes you so mad about him?"

Tai Lung shook his head, his tail wagging slightly behind him. "Everything," he said. "The fact that he understood the Dragon Scroll and I didn't. The fact that I wasn't proclaimed the Dragon Warrior. And to top it all off, he's a big fat panda! Everything about him angers me to no end..."

Miles' sapphire eyes glanced to the side. "Uh... I'm not sure what you mean," he said. "Dragon Scroll? Is that something related to your fighting style?"

The snow leopard nodded, closing his cold yellow eyes as he seemed deep in thought. "Yeah," he said. "The Dragon Scroll is supposed to give you immeasurable power. But it's blank! That scroll is worthless, I tell you! I had waited twenty years to look on nothing!"

The fox nodded, thinking there was more that Tai Lung was not seeing but not voicing this thought. "And the Dragon Warrior is supposed to be the most powerful warrior in China?"

"Yes," he said. "Only, that panda gets it because he stole it from me." The tinge of bitterness in Tai Lung's voice perturbed Miles only slightly as he continued. "I was meant to be the Dragon Warrior! That old fool Oogway was crazy in proclaiming that big fat panda to be the dragon warrior! I mastered all one thousand scrolls of kung fu! That panda only learned kung fu in a few days! He deserves nothing!"

The fox's ear flickered slightly before he continued. "So... you're mad at the Dragon Warrior because you're jealous," he pointed out.

"Oh, believe me, there is a fine line between jealousy and justified rage," replied Tai Lung. "I was meant to be the Dragon Warrior. And yet, nobody wants to admit it! This is not jealousy, Miles; this is justified. And everybody else be damned if they don't believe otherwise!"

Miles was silent, simply looking at the snow leopard as he ranted. "Including your father?" he pointed out, hoping to instill some sense of regret in Tai Lung.

Instead, this seemed to make the cat angrier, as he turned on the kitsune. "My father stood there and did nothing!" he half-shouted, advancing on the fox and pointing his finger threateningly as he did so. "He knew I was the dragon warrior, and yet when Oogway said otherwise, he stood there and did nothing! He trained me for that day, Miles! You know how horrible it felt to feel that even my own father didn't agree with me?"

At the end of the rant, Tai Lung was uncomfortably close to Miles, who felt the glare of Tai Lung's amber eyes penetrate his very soul. The kitsune was silent, his own blue eyes shining in fear as the stars twinkled above. Realizing that the cat could really not be bothered with reasoning with Tai Lung, as his reasoning seemed logical enough. However, there were more questions that filled Miles' mind, and as he backed away to sit back up, he nodded.

"I..." he began uncertainly. "I'll be honest; I never even knew who my parents were, and the one person that was there for me... well, he always was on my side. So no, I don't know how bad it is. But I'll bet it must be the worst feeling in the world."

"It is the worst feeling in the world!" replied the cat, standing up. "He slapped me in the face with that! My father... he taught me everything! He made me into the finest kung fu warrior that anyone could have asked for! But no, I get rejected because I have 'darkness in my heart' or some shit like that! I got rejected by everybody!"

Miles nodded, realizing that in a way, Tai Lung was right. "But it's not the 'darkness' in your heart that's the problem, it's whether you can control it or not..." he said. "Were you able to control it back then?"

"I would think so!" Tai Lung exclaimed, throwing his ams up in the air. "My father brought me up with love! All I did, I did to make him proud! I mastered all the scrolls to make him proud! I became one of kung fu's greatest warriors, all to make him proud!"

"Hm..." Miles rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "With so much power comes a lot of responsibility. And yet, the Dragon Scroll was blank..."

"Yes," replied the leopard as he glared at the kitsune. "I hope you're not trying to analyze what I did because I never would've done it if I had just been proclaimed the Dragon Warrior like I should have."

The fox paused on this note, looking at Tai Lung. He had been thinking a little about why Tai Lung might not have been proclaimed that the snow leopard was not thinking about. However, by this point, the cat was getting quite angry, Miles shook his head. Deciding that some things were better left unsaid, he decided to drop the subject entirely as quickly as he could.

"I'm not..." he said. "But still. I'll think about it a little more and tell you what I think when I'm ready to."

Tai Lung nodded, closing his eyes as he crossed his arms in front of him. He seemed satisfied with this answer. He looked up at the stars above them, Miles wondering why he would do so.

"In the meantime, you might want to be telling me what happened to you to get you this far," replied the cat.

Glancing down at the ground, the kitsune shook his head morosely. "I... I still don't think I'm ready," he said softly. "But... I can tell you that the only reason I'm here right now is because my best friend died two years ago..."

The snow leopard raised one of his eyebrows, genuinely surprised at this turn of events. "This is quite a long time of mourning a simple friend, yes?"

Miles looked up at him, eyes filled with sadness. "He was like a brother to me, though..." he replied. "And you wouldn't understand what happened..."

The cat nodded as he sat down on the ground. "I see..." he said. "But you will want to tell me one of these days, for I have already told you as much as I dare to tell, and you are the only one that has something left to talk about."

The fox nodded dumbly as he moved close to the fire again. Stretching out and yawning, he laid down.

"Tired already?" asked the snow leopard with a slight grunt.

"Yeah," Miles replied as he put his head on his hands. "It's one reason why I can get up so early every morning. Good night."

"Good night," replied the snow leopard as he looked out onto the landscape, keeping watch over Miles as he drifted off to sleep.


	5. Shifu: Chapter 2

Okay.

Now before I go on, there's one thing I desperately want to make clear (since one of my DeviantArt reviewers found this to be the case): there will be no yaoi in this story! If there was, I would've put up a yaoi disclaimer in the summary. Tai Lung and Tails will only be friends in this fic; it will not go beyond that. There's a 19 year age difference between the two, for crying out loud!

So, yeah. No yaoi.

But, enough of that. Let's go over to the Jade Pallace during the same day and see what Cream and friends are doing!

* * *

Shifu: Chapter 2

Shifu sat under the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom that morning, blowing into a bamboo flute as the day began. The soft music of the flute was carried by the light breeze that rustled the leaves of the peach tree ever so gently. The red panda's eyes were closed softly, his fingers covering and uncovering the fingerholes deftly as he moved through a rather slow piece of music. Shifu played each note with a strange sense of lingering, letting the beauty of it settle into the air before moving on slowly.

When he finally finished, he smiled lightly, setting the flute in his lap as he breathed in contentedly.

He was not expecting the sound of hands clapping together coming from just behind him.

Jumping up into a fighting stance and turning around with a hardened expression on his face, he simply saw Cream standing by the tree as she smiled.

"That was beautiful, Master Shifu!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you played music!"

Shifu's expression softened as he looked at the rabbit. He smiled softly as he looked down to his flute. "Yes..." he said. "The flute is one of those things that helps me find inner peace."

"Huh," she said, blinking slightly. "I guess we all have things that help us find 'inner peace', as you call it?"

"Yes," said Shifu softly as he walked over to Cream. "No matter how we look at things, we all have ways of attaining inner peace."

Cream nodded, thoughts of Sonic beginning to seep into her mind. "I guess we do..." she said a little morosely. "Do you know when the Furious Five will be out to search for Tails?"

"They should leave this morning unless something comes up," Shifu replied as he moved so that he was next to the rabbit. "This land has been in peace long enough, however, so I have confidence that nothing will get in the way of the search."

"That's always good," said Cream. "Should I come along, or...?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," replied the red panda as they began walking down the path to the Jade Palace proper. "It may help to see, it may not. The illusion of control is quite crafty like that. Follow your heart, and good things may come."

The rabbit blinked, unsure of what Shifu was trying to say before she simply walked on next to the kung fu master. "Right..." she said. "And about this fighting style of yours... kung fu, was it?"

"You will be taught it by the Dragon Warrior while the Five are away," replied Shifu. "You seemed so interested in it last night; I figured you would want to learn some basics."

Cream's eyebrow rose at this. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed, jumping up excitedly. "I just hope it's not too hard..."

"Set your mind to it and it will not be overly difficult," replied the red panda. "You should have seen Po when he first came under my tutelage. The poor fellow could do absolutely nothing! And yet, with proper motivation, I crafted him into the finest warrior in kung fu history! I am sure with your own proper motivation it should not be too difficult."

The rabbit nodded as they moved along. "I'll try, then," she said.

A loud sound suddenly came from the Jade Palace itself, however. Cream noted that it was a very similar sound to what had occurred the day before when she had rang the gong. Shifu's expression turned into a slight frown as he heard this.

However, when the gong rang two extra times, Shifu's eyes widened, and he looked to Cream with a look of horror on his face. Confused, Cream looked to the kung fu master.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The gong has been rung three times..." he said. "That means something urgent has happened!"

Shifu raced to the Jade Palace quickly, Cream being a little bewildered as the meaning of the words sank in. However, she heard footsteps, and then Po and the Furious Five were seen behind her, racing to the Jade Palace. Eyes wide in surprise, Cream fell into step with Po.

"You're not going to be able to find my friend soon, are you?" asked the rabbit.

"I'm afraid not..." replied Po as they ran. "You should stay out of this meeting, Cream. It might not have anything to do with you."

Cream shook her head. "I wanna find out what happens next!" she said. "I'm not gonna be left out here for an hour or two before hearing back from you!"

The panda simply shrugged as everybody ran towards the Jade Palace, realizing that at that point there would be no convincing Cream otherwise.

* * *

Shifu stood at the head of the small group, Po on his right side and Tigress on his left. The remaining Furious Five were behind both of them, with Mantis atop Cream's head as she stood by innocently.

In front of them stood the mighty Emperor of China himself. The bull was dressed in very regal garb as a group of four servants carried a chair on which he sat. Behind this person was a rather staunch looking indochinese tiger, yellow eyes looking at the group kindly as they walked in the Jade Palace. The four guards let down the chair suddenly, and then the emperor of China stepped off, looking down at the kung fu warriors and the rabbit girl.

The corner of the rabbit girl's eyes were intent on the warriors, such that when they bent down, she was able to bend down in perfect syncronicity, her eyes lingering on them as they stood back up.

"Master Xang Li Shifu..." began the emperor of China in a great, hulking baritone that commanded a great presence within the halls. "I come to you with very dire news.

"My lord," replied the red panda. "What news do you come with us?"

"Tai Lung has escaped from Chohr Gom," said the emperor. "Again," he added, with a tinge of bitterness in his tone.

All eyes widened in shock at the pronunciation of this sentence. Cream, of course, was a little confused, but then Mantis leant into her ear and began explaining away so that she would be up to speed on who the criminal was.

"He... He has escaped again, my lord?" asked Shifu, quite concerned by this development.

"We recieved word of this from Commander Vachir yesterday," replied the emperor stoically as he looked down at the master, pacing in front of them. "I should probably let my advisor tell you more."

At this, the gracious figure of the tiger came forward and bowed to Shifu. "Good morning, Master Shifu," he said.

Cream eyed the figure oddly, finding something amiss about the way he spoke. Shifu paid it no mind, however, bowing down politely. "Same to you, Wang Dun," he replied graciously. "So, what do you know about this situation?"

"I sent scouts out to the area around Chohr Gom shortly after I heard," replied the tiger graciously. "According to the guards at Chohr Gom, he would have died of dehydration, as the lowered rations of water would have made him weak to barely get to the nearest body of water. But, two things happened that we did not expect. First, was Tai Lung's resillience; he would have reached the body of water if he had just the slightest inkling more of stamina. The second..."

"What is the second thing?" asked Shifu, hoping to spur the advisor into speaking more.

"The second was that someone decided to help him, even though he is a criminal," said Wang Dun, eyes looking down. "My scouts described him as a fox with two tails. Quite unusual if you ask me..."

Shifu felt a slight disturbance behind him, and glancing back he noticed that the rabbit that had come in the day before visibly stiffened, hands clenched into fists as she stood completely tense. Looking back, the red panda nodded. "I see..." he said. "Did this, fox, as you call him, seem to be a threat?"

"He wouldn't be a threat, no," blurted out Cream suddenly.

Just after the rabbit had realized her mistake, all eyes were set on the rabbit's small frame. Cream began shaking in fright as she saw this display of eyes looking at her.

"And what, may I ask, gives you the right to say that?" asked the advisor.

"I..." replied the rabbit when she suddenly noticed that not all of the gazes in her direction were glares. "I'd know those two tails anywhere. That person who's with Tai Lung is... he's a friend of mine."

The room's full attention was then exherted on the little rabbit girl, and then the emperor looked upon her with kind eyes. "Ah," he said as he moved towards the rabbit. "That would in fact be useful information. Tell me; what do you know about him?"

"He ran away from home two years ago," replied the rabbit nervously. "I... I went out to find him." Before anybody could interject, the rabbit continued. "He isn't really a fighter, I know that much. He's a great inventor, though. Also, he can run faster than your best warriors, I think."

"That would be a very prideful statement, yes?" asked Tigress from where she stood, crossing her arms in front of her.

Cream shook her head. "He was able to keep up with a friend who could run faster than the speed of sound!" she replied. "It's not a prideful statement!"

Perturbed glances were sent her way. "Sound has a speed that could be measured?" asked Shifu suddenly.

The only non-Chinese person in the room shrugged. "Apparently," she said. "But he wouldn't outrun the person he's with if it meant his life would be safe."

Wang Dun nodded in appreciation as he took these details in. "An inventor?" he said. "So he could invent a weapon?"

"I'd think he'd be more used to more recent technology, though," replied Cream.

The advisor nodded to this statement. "Where he is, he would have no access to anything with which to build," he said. "Which leaves the only reason why Tai Lung would want to use him; as a bargaining chip."

All eyes turned to Wang Dun as they realized the implications of the statement. Frowning, Shifu shook his head. "That would be horrible..." he said. "And it sounds like exactly the kind of thing Tai Lung would do."

"Then I say we get to Tai Lung as fast as we can and kick his butt before he can use the poor guy as a bargaining chip!" exclaimed Po, slamming his fist into his hand.

"But do we even know where he is?" asked Tigress suddenly.

The emperor nodded. "We believe he is headed straight for the Jade Palace, as in the last time he escaped from Chohr Gom. I would like it if he were intercepted before he got to this point, however; if you intercept him before he gets to this point, I would like to accost him at Beijing for his crimes."

A dead silence fell upon the room, the meaning of this sinking in as even Cream understood that this would most likely result in a death sentence for Tai Lung. "I see..." said Shifu, his tone of voice laced with some combination of spite and regret. "I will deliberate further amongst the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five. Once we come to a decision, I will send the relevant party out and I shall return to you with the people that decide to stay here at the Jade Palace."

The bull bowed to Master Shifu respectfully. "I thank you for your efforts," he said stoically. "I shall be waiting here for your deliberations to end."

Shifu nodded silently. Turning around, he exited the Jade Palace to the dorms, Po, Cream and the Furious Five following him closely behind as they moved up the mountain.

* * *

When they arrived at the dorm, the entire group shuffled into Tigress' room. As soon as everybody was settled into the small room, all eyes went straight to the red panda. Shifu was the first to ask questions.

"So, what should we do?" he asked.

"I say we go for it," said Po, cracking his knuckles. "That fox might be in trouble, and the sooner we can get him out and take Tai Lung down the better... Tails was his name, right?"

"Yeah," replied Cream. "Please do be careful with him!"

"When we find him, we will try our best to be careful," replied Viper.

Tigress frowned at something she realized. "Although, wait a second..." she said, eyes glancing about. "Am I the only one who noticed that something didn't seem quite right about the ambassador's story?"

Shifu cast a glance to the tiger, Po and the rest of the Five doing the same thing. Suddenly, all of the heads around her nodded, much to her surprise. Cream was the only one who was a little confused by this.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"He said a scout had gone over there after Tai Lung had escaped," replied Shifu as he looked at the rabbit girl. "And that he was able to see Tails save Tai Lung's life."

The rabbit shrugged, still unsure of Shifu's meaning. "What might be the problem with that?" asked Cream.

"It would take two weeks to get from Chohr Gom to here," replied Tigress as she looked at Cream. "It would take about an extra half a week to get to Beijing if you stopped here first. So it takes a while to get to Chohr Gom."

Cream raised her eyebrows as she realized what this might imply. "So you're saying that either it was a lucky coincidence, or that Mr. Wang Dun knows more than he is telling us?" asked the rabbit, crossing her arms in front of her.

Crane nodded. "Wang Dun's scouts are birds, so it would take them less time to get from Chohr Gom to Beijing. But even then, it would take two or three days of non-stop flight to get to Beijing from Chohr Gom. It would be impossible to send a scout to Chohr Gom from Beijing and head back within the span of a single day."

"Which means that the scout was already there," said Cream. As she thought of this, she shrugged. "Maybe the scout just got lucky. Maybe he was already there checking on Tai Lung's status when he escaped..."

Shifu nodded. "That may very well be the case," said the red panda thoughtfully. "Still, I do think it is wise to keep a measure of safety just in case something happens."

With this having been said, he turned to the more obese panda in the room. "Po." said Shifu matter-of-factly. "I want you to take the Furious Five with you. I will stay here and watch over the palace and Cream."

The rabbit's eyes widened at this. "B-but what do you mean I have to stay behind?" asked Cream. "If he's in the state I think he is, I don't think he would want to face me!"

"But at the same time, you would just get in the way," replied Tigress coldly. As Cream glared at her, she continued. "I understand that you might be able to get him to come with us, but you have no kung fu skill. That said, if Tai Lung attempted to kidnap you too, then that would be your life in danger as well as your friend's, and then we would have to be extra careful. Your presence would do very little to help..."

Cream would have been riled, but her mind mulled over the facts that Tigress had stated. Realizing that the kung fu mistress was right, she nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I'll stay here, then."

"All right," said Shifu, regret seeming to flash in his eyes. "I hereby send you out to do your duty. Please, try not to fail."

"Of course, Master," said Po.

He and the Furious Five cupped their hands in front of their bodies and bowed down to Shifu respectfully. After the panda bowed, the group of six filed out of the room as quickly as they could. This left Shifu and Cream alone in the room, the rabbit a little bewildered about what had just happened.

"I hope they'll be okay..." she said as she suddenly noticed their forms prancing down the mountain quickly.

Shifu smiled at Cream. "They will be all right," he reassurred the rabbit. "Tai Lung was unable to defeat Po by himself; if he is pitted against Po and he Furious Five, I am sure the threat will be quelled quickly."

The rabbit nodded uncertainly. Shifu nodded to her as he began to leave the room. "Come," he said. "We still have to address the emperor one final time before he leaves us to our business."

Cream followed the older kung fu master out of the room, her gait uncertain as she expected something awful to happen to somebody.

* * *

When Cream and Shifu had walked back down to the Jade Palace proper, they found the emperor still standing staunchly in the palace as Wang Dun stood off to the side. When the two smaller creatures entered, they both bowed down to the emperor in respect. In reply, the grand bull simply bowed his head down in respect.

"What have you decided to do?" asked the emperor.

"I have sent the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five after Tai Lung," replied Shifu. "With any luck, we should be able to intercept him and save the boy soon."

"Excellent," replied the emperor, a small smile gracing his lips. "And I take it they shall go to Beijing once he has been accosted?"

"Of course," replied Shifu.

The emperor nodded, closing his dark crimson eyes as he heard this. "I apologize in advance for what must be done," he said. "I understand Tai Lung was very special to you when he was a cub. I also understand you loved him like he was your own son."

Cream glanced uncertainly at the red panda she was accompanying as he sighed. The rabbit's eyes lit up in concern as the smaller person began pacing around in a small area.

"I used to love him," replied Shifu with a strange kind of sadness emanating from his voice as he looked at the ground. "Now, all my love for him has gone. He has disappointed me greatly, but as a father I have disappointed him more. He does not deserve my love, and as well I do not deserve his respect."

The bull nodded gravely as he turned to Cream. "And I do hope your own parents are not fretting," he said.

"I'm sure they are," she said, bowing down to the emperor. "But I write back to my mom whenever I can."

"It is good that you do," replied the bull as a small smile crept on his face. "I would think that any parent would be concerned for their child after journeying after a friend for two years. You should keep writing to your parents as often as you can..."

Cream simply nodded in reply as the emperor turned to his chair. The four guards, who had stood by the chair in silence the entire time, nodded as Wang Dun nodded graciously.

"Then I shall be leaving, then," said the emperor as he sat on his chair. "May luck and fortune be with the Dragon Warrior on his mission!"

And with this, the small procession turned to exit the Jade Palace. As the elder panda watched the procession leave, Cream turned to him, a little bit of shock on her face as she looked at Shifu.

"'Used' to love him?" she asked a little incredulously. "Why?"

Shifu shook his head as he looked at Cream. "Tai Lung was left here as a baby," he said. "I brought him up, raising him to be kung fu's finest warrior. It broke my heart to see him become so heartless when he was not proclaimed the Dragon Warrior..."

The rabbit nodded, realizing what the elder kung fu master meant by this comment. When the procession of the emperor left the Jade Palace, Shifu turned to Cream with a soft smile on his face.

"So," he said. "Would you like to begin your kung fu training?"

Cream turned to Shifu and nodded at this. "Of course!" she said.

The red panda nodded at this, moving along slowly. "Then follow me," he said.

The two people then walked out of the Jade Palace proper, leaving the large room in silence as the pool under the dragon scroll rippled uncertainly.


	6. Tai Lung: Chapter 3

All right.

So after that bit of moving the plot forward, let's get back to character development! And a plot detail that may come back later? Sure, why not?

* * *

Tai Lung: Chapter 3

Tai Lung woke up relatively early the next morning. Noticing that Miles had somehow woken up much earlier than him, the kung fu warrior sat up as Miles was preparing a fire in the pre-dawn light.

"Good morning, Miles," said Tai Lung.

"Morning," said the kitsune softly as he poked the fire. "I hope you don't mind that we're having beast again."

The leopard's eyebrow rose in curiosity. "You caught a beast?"

"Yeah," replied Miles absently, almost as if he was not really there. "I made a trap and it walked right in."

"Huh," said the snow leopard as he began pacing around the fox. "You surprise me yet again, Miles."

The kitsune shook his head. "I'm more used to working with metal and stuff," he said. "But I only just realized I can work with wood, too."

"Really?" asked Tai Lung, quite interested in this. "You said you were an inventor earlier. Tell me; what did you make?"

The inventor shook his head, shrugging. "Oh, stuff," he said. "Airplanes, laser guns, walking tanks, loca--"

"Wait, wait, wait," interrupted Tai Lung, kneeling back down to Miles' level as he let down the others. "Airplanes? Laser guns? Walking tanks? What are those things?"

"Uh..." said Miles, unsure of where to begin. "Airplanes... let people fly... Laser guns shoot light and breakthings. And tanks are essentially war machines; I've made some that walk like we do."

Tai Lung was utterly flabberghasted at hearing all of the technology he never thought existed. "You...?" he asked. "You have that kind of technology? I didn't even think it was possible to make a machine which allowed people to fly!"

"Yeah," Miles replied, his voice seeming to get a little happier as he spoke. "It's one of those things I loved to do. Before I came over here, I would slave for hours in my workshop, doing absolutely nothing but making things and tweaking them to my satisfaction. It was like a match made in heaven. I loved to make the technology." The kitsune looked up as the sky began to light up. "But I left that when I left my old life," he continued. "My workshop is one of those things that I'll miss. I hope that people at least have the sense to keep it intact; I don't want my workshop going into ruin..."

The cat nodded to this, his eyes closed slightly as he adjusted his position next to the kitsune. "I see..." he said. "Do you have something with you?"

Miles paused as he quickly sorted through his memory whether he had taken a piece of his technology with him or not.

"Hm..." he hummed, bringing his pack closer as he felt it for something, anything that might have been in his old workshop. When he felt around, however, his hand fell on something small and compact. As his lips curved upward, he took his hand out of the pack and looked down at the video recorder he was surprised he still had.

"I do, actually," he said, showing Tai Lung the little thing. "This would be a video recorder."

The snow leopard raised his eyebrow. "A video recorder?" he asked. "What does that do?"

The kitsune gestured for Tai Lung to stand up and hit the power button, praying that the camera had enough battery life left in it. He had never used it if the fact that he had forgotten it had said anything, but he was not willing to take any chances. As the cat stood up, the camera turned on, and then Tails opened a flap to the side to see the ground beneath him in a set of pixels.

"Yes, it works!" said Miles, standing up and looking at the kung fu warrior as he hit record and focused the camera on his companion. "Now, do something. Anything at all will work."

The cat shrugged, and then decided that something would work. He quickly jumped in the air, a kick flying out from his person as he landed on the ground. He swung his arms around real wide after this, and after a few revolutions of his arms he brought his hands forward in a palm strike, pausing in this position briefly. Smirking, he turned to Miles as he pressed stop.

"That good enough?" asked the kung fu warrior.

"Yeah, that's fine," said the kitsune as he walked over to his companion. "Now, I'm going to hit a few buttons, and you'll watch yourself on this screen here..."

Tai Lung paid attenton to the thing that Miles had called a screen, and he was surprised when it managed to play back all of his movements right down to the way his tail had invluntarily moved.

"Amazing..." he said as it stopped abruptly. "I never knew anybody could have such technology..."

"Yeah, it's rather new where I came from..." replied the kitsune. "It's crazy that they don't have anything like it here in China."

"You would not believe some things here..." replied Tai Lung as he looked in the direction they had been heading. "We should eat as fast as possible and get moving."

The kitsune nodded, turning the video recorder off and storing it back in his pack before turning his attention to the small beas he had captured and killed earlier.

* * *

Miles was again holding on to Tai Lung as he barrelled throughout the landscapes of China, mountains seeming to pass by at a very slow rate.

"You know, if you're so bent on revenge, I wonder why you can't just have me fly you over there," pointed out Miles.

"I prefer to move my own body," said Tai Lung. "Besides, I'm not in any particular hurry here. I will arrive at the Jade Palace when I arrive at the Jade Pallace."

This answer seemed to be enough for Miles, and so the kitsune promptly decided to keep quiet.

"You know, you haven't talked an awful lot about yourself other than the fact that you're an inventor," said Tai Lung tentatively. "I think you should tell me tonight."

The fox would have protested, except that he realized that the snow leopard had a rather valid point; there was no point revealing information about oneself if the other party was not going to give them information in return. After all, they were travel companions and he would have to spill it eventually.

"Okay, I'll tell you," said Miles, going through his head to see what information he should hide from Tai Lung. "But it probably won't be easy for me to do."

* * *

Miles and Tai Lung had stopped by yet another tree in the emptyness. However, they were able to make out a rice field in the distance, the farmers plaintively wrapping up their duties for the day as the two vagrants watched from their seated position, their backs to the small tree they had found. The orange glow of the sunset seemed to make everything a little more melancholic at that time, and a question popped up in Miles' head.

"Why not attack them?" asked Miles. "I mean, no offense... but..."

The predator groaned in distaste. "Unlike what some people like to believe, I still have a shred of my sense of honor," Tai Lung replied. "When I rampaged twenty-one years ago, I was angry at everything, so I rampaged everything. But they are not my target now. Hence, why I'll leave them alone."

The kitsune nodded as he looked down at this scene as the sun was setting over the night sky. "And when you escaped from Chohr Gom?" he asked. "Did you do anything to those guards?"

Tai Lung nodded at this. "They were in my way, though," he said. "I would've had to deal with them eventually. So I just kicked their asses is all. Hey, if I hadn't, they would've locked me back up."

The fox frowned at this. "Actually, that makes me wonder..." he began. "How did you get out of Chohr Gom the second time."

"Why do you ask?" asked the snow leopard as his gaze turned to his young companion.

"By all accounts, you shouldn't have been able to escape if Chohr Gom is a prison that's only mentioned by name," he pointed out. "Plus, the first time you escaped, you were in full health. So there must be something else..."

The cat snorted, Miles instantly taking it as a hint. "So there is something else!" exclaimed the kitsune.

"Yes, there is," replied Tai Lung. "Someone sent a scout to free me in the middle of the night."

Miles' eyes widened. "A scout?" asked the two-tailed fox.

The kung fu fighter nodded, eyes trained on the rice field below him. "He freed me in the middle of the night," he said. "It was really wierd. He just picked the lock of my cell silently and free me of my chains and... well... he literally carried me out. All without the guards noticing."

Miles grimaced slightly, thinking about something else. "But why would anyone want to free you?" he asked. "You're the most feared criminal in China. I don't think anybody would want to free you..."

Tai Lung crossed his arms in front of him. "I don't know," he said. "I asked the scout about that, and all he told me was that I would be very useful to his master. I didn't even get a name out of him."

"So he expects you to find out who you're supposed to be of use to before you meet him," said Miles, chuckling bitterly as he thought about this. "I think we both know that makes no sense."

"My sentiments exactly," replied Tai Lung as the sun slowly began to sink behind a mountain, ushering in the twilight with its departure. "Who am I of use to?"

"Who knows?" asked the kitsune, shrugging.

The snow leopard nodded in agreement with his younger companion. "But enough about that," he said. "You were supposed to tell me a little about yourself right now."

Miles tensed for a split second, but he did not let this show as he nodded slowly to Tai Lung. "Okay," he said. "I... I'm really not sure how to begin this... I never knew my parents, sort of like you did. But, I did have a brother figure. I told you all that."

"Yes, yes you did," replied Tai Lung softly. "Now, what else happened?"

Miles shrugged. "My friend had a long grudge with this man," he continued. "His name was Ivo Robotnik, but we always called him Eggman because of how fat he was. He was an inventor, too... Only... he made things to try to take over the world."

Tai Lung nodded as he understood this. "Taking over the world, huh?" he asked. "Sounds like something that should be stopped. I may be after the Dragon Warrior, but believe me, taking over the world is one of those things I'd completely bristle at."

"Oh, trust me, my brother and I stopped him more times than I care to count," Miles said, rolling his eyes as he did. "Eggman was... really stubborn... Always stubborn right into the end..." The kitsune blinked, batting a few tears that he knew he could not cry as he swallowed soundlessly. "There were always good times with that. Even when other people became involved, my brother and I still had a good time... We kept on saving the world for many, many years."

"So then why are you here?" asked the snow leopard, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "I mean, you had a good life, compared to me..."

"Because my brother died," he said. "I told you that already. It's just... the circumstances were so unusual..." On the verge of breaking down, Miles decided this was a good place to stop. "I can't go on. It's too sensitive for me to talk about what happened to cause his death. All you need to know was that I was at the center of it..."

Tai Lung nodded as he wordlessly shifted slightly so that he was no longer leaning his weight against the tree. "That's good enough, at any rate," he said as he lay down on the grass. "At least I know a little more than I did before. And that's saying something, considering how silent you've been on that."

"Yeah, I have been cruel, haven't I?" asked Miles as he too edged away from the tree they had been leaning against.

The cat's eyes widened just a little bit, but the kitsune did not notice this as Tai Lung's back was to him. "I wouldn't say that," he said. "More... unfair, if I want to put a word to it. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Tai Lung was falling asleep when he heard "G'night," coming from behind him. Still mulling over the fox's choice of words in his last question, the cat fell asleep.


	7. Cream: Chapter 3

Okay. So, who's up for more character development?

Yeah, you'll be getting quite a bit of that. But once the plot starts picking up speed, it'll move really, really fast. Trust me, for those of you that haven't read the original TTLG, that's how it was there too. And once the plot gets going... yeah, there's gonna be a hell of a downward spiral waiting. What that is? That's for me to know and you to find out!

So while we get that, let's watch as Cream learns to defend herself!

* * *

Cream: Chapter 3

The rabbit looked in the training area, shocked by everything she saw there. The entire training course was laid out before her; the bowl that seemed to be ready to move around, all of the pillars with wooden point-studded beams that spun around, the floor of holes from which fire plumes constantly rose, a whole series of moving serpents, and a bunch of wooden logs suspended from the ceiling by chains were what she beheld. As Shifu looked at the course, Cream looked back to the kung fu master in disbelief.

"You...?" she asked incredulously. "You expect me to be able to do all that on my first try?"

Shifu chuckled good-naturedly as he looked at the rabbit. "Everybody does if they know the absolute basics of Kung Fu," he said. "Po is the only person I've known to require a level zero, and that was only because he had no prior fighting experience. However, you say you have done some fighting, so I'll trust you can handle this on your first try."

A drop of sweat seemed to course through the skin underneath her fur as Cream looked at this. "Okay..." she said. "Suddenly, I'm not so sure I can do this."

"If you want, there is always the dummy over here," said Shifu as he walked to a corner of the obstacle course.

The rabbit trailed her master, suddenly noticing a dummy of what looked like an average panda standing in the corner. Nodding at this, the rabbit walked over to where Shifu had stood.

"Yeah, I'll start with this, thanks," she said as she walked over to the training dummy. "So I hit this thing?"

"Yes," replied the red panda softly as his student approached the dummy.

"Okay, doesn't sound too hard," she said.

Reeling back, she landed a punch on the dummy, the inflated bag sent careening back. Cream would have celebrated except for the fact that she noticed the dummy tilting back in her direction. Seeing this, she waited until the dummy leaned towards her, and then she hit it again with her clenched fist. As she expected, the dummy tilted towards her again.

She proceeded to land a series of slow kicks and punches to the rather large dummy, always letting it lean back to her before hitting it. Eventually she had memorized the timing of wen the dummy had swung, and then as she smiled fiercely she proceeded to pummel the dummy for a good ten minutes. Finally, she reared back right after she had landed a kick on the dummy, and very quickly followed it up with a rather strong kick that sent the dummy bouncing away from the corner. Keeping the ricochet in mind, Cream stepped to the side and watched as the dummy then rolled right past her, barrelling into the opposite wall where it finally settled into bobbing back and forth. Smiling and nodding, the rabbit turned to Shifu, who had stood silently watching her the whole time.

"So, how'd I do?" asked Cream, a small smile on her lips.

Shifu seemed pleased with this, nodding softly. "You have absolutely no form in your punching or kicking whatsoever," he replied. "But I see you have a very strong sense of timing and sensing patterns. That will get you farther than perfect form ever will. I say you personally will not need a level zero. And you are certainly above some of the students in the classroom."

The red panda then turned to the obstacle course. "I think you can manage this," he said without missing a beat. "Timing and patterns are important here; you should be able to survive this just fine."

Cream looked at the obstacle course, not looking forward to what was inside.

"I hope you're right," she said as she edged to the beginning of the course where the bowl lay on the floor precariously.

"Oh, no no no," said Shifu, directing the rabbit away from the bowl. "That is to practice fighting balance. You start, here."

She was deployed in front of the spinning pillars studded with bits of iron. Looking at this, she was a little apprehensive. "I'm not sure I can do this..." she said.

"True strength comes from within," recited the red panda as he gestured into there. "If you think you can do it, I am sure you will be able to push through."

The rabbit's soft caramel eyes looked over the obstacle course again, looking at everything. Gulping nervously, she sat down on the edge of the course, her hands gripping the edge strongly.

"Okay," she said, hesitantly. "I'll take your word for it, then."

With this, she jumped in front of the obstacle course, and then she slowly made her way through the group of pillars that were rooted to their spots on the ground.

The small beams that jutted out of the pillars then began to move when Cream nearly tripped on one. This sent the rabbit ducking quickly as she noticed a beam above her head trying to hit her, and then she jumped up when she remembered that the motion had started because of her foot. Curling into a ball, she narrowly dodged both beams whirling above and below her. She had barely landed when she found herself stepping over a beam that had moved from the opposite pillar. Quickly setting her foot down, she ducked, realizing another beam would attempt to hit her from above. This notion was proven correct when an iron-studded beam suddenly whipped the air over her head.

She then jumped forward, expecting this back and forth motion to occur continually for some time. It was then she noticed that her small action had created a chain of events that radiated out, and suddenly she found herself ducking and jumping and sidestepping all over the place as she dodged the beams that were trying to hit her over and over again. Eventually, she began to get rather creative, getting down on her hands, and even attempting to deflect a few of the beams with her hands (although the pain in her hands whenever she tried to deflect a beam of wood was a little too great for her). Eventually, she moved through all of the pillars, and then she found herself on the other side of the pillars from where she had started from.

Sighing in relief, she looked up, noticing Shifu standing at the edge of the obstacle course with a small smile on his face.

"Good, good!" he called from above. "You don't seem to have a problem going through it; your reflexes are definitely quite good! You can definitely do this entire obstacle course!"

Cream looked up to Shifu, smiling broadly as she glanced behind her briefly. "I guess I can," she said, eyeing everything else that seemed to appear in the room. "Well, here goes!"

She then flapped her ears to fly, landing on top of the moving serpents as she began a high-strung dance of dodging and keeping her balance.

* * *

Cream somehow walked out of the training area, her legs feeling like jello as she was stumbling all over herself. Shifu was walking by her side, a smile on his face.

"Ow..." Cream moaned. "That really made me sore. How do the rest of them get through it in one piece?"

"Experience," replied Shifu softly. "You did quite well for being a first-timer to kung fu. Did you have any prior experience?"

The rabbit nearly collapsed again, but she managed to keep her composure. "Well, I did fight an evil doctor several times," replied the rabbit. "I remember that I used to have to time everything just a little before whenever I was beating his minions..."

The kung fu master's eyebrow rose in curiosity. "Really?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," said Cream. "That ended two years ago, though, around the same time Tails ran away."

"Ah," said Shifu. "Why?"

The rabbit rolled her eyes. "He went insane," she said. "Apparently, after so many years of trying to take over the world he lost his grip on his mind, and then he just lost his grip on reality with it."

"Oh," said Shifu, nodding sternly as the two of them walked up the mountain to the dormitories, the sun setting in the distance. "Do you think that this doctor--?"

"Oh, trust me, he had everything to do with Tails running away, I'm sure of it," she said grimly. "It's a really complicated story, but to make it short, the doctor forced Tails to kill his best friend. It was really painful, too."

Shifu's eyes widened in a rare display of genuine shock. "My..." he said breathlessly. "That is absolutely awful! Is that why 'Tails', as you call him, ran away?"

The rabbit nodded. "We all know it wasn't his fault that his friend died..." said Cream. "But... the two of them were like brothers... I don't think he could take the guilt..."

Shifu nodded, soft blue eyes looking at her. "I see..." he said. "To think I almost did the same thing so many years ago..."

"Tai Lung?" asked Cream, immediately guessing from what she had heard between the emperor and the kung fu master the day before.

"I was unable to stop him the first time I had to," replied the red panda softly as the two of them stopped on their walk up the mountain. "I could not bring myself to destroy what I had loved and cherished. I had been blinded by pride..." Shifu paused uncertainly, jaw set as he seemed to hesitate. "I could not, and did not want to see what he became. I feared the guilt that would accompany such an action. And now your friend did what I could not. It must be awful what he is going through right now."

"It is," Cream replied softly. "He barely said anything to us the day his friend died. I just want to tell him that we all forgive him. I think that will bring him home."

Shifu nodded somberly as they both restarted their trek up the mountains. "And the friend that died...?" asked Shifu. "What was his name."

"Sonic," stated Cream simply. "Sonic the Hedgehog."

"I hope this 'Sonic' person can rest in peace," Shifu said thoughtfully. "I wonder if he has met my old master in heaven..."

Cream simply shrugged, and the two of them continued conversing as they walked up the mountain.


	8. Tai Lung: Chapter 4

Okay. So, that was more character development.

This time? We finally get something good happening. This something good? Otherwise known, as the action sequence. Take it away, guys!

* * *

Tai Lung: Chapter 4

Miles woke up slowly, grabbing his head as he looked down at where Tai Lung lay in the sun that was just beginning to rise. The snow leopard was beginning to stir himself, and then he turned around and looked over to whee the kitsune sat.

"Good morning," said Tai Lung as he sat up.

"Morning," he said. "You're up a little early."

Tai Lung shrugged. "I get the feeling that something is gonna happen today," he said. "I wouldn't know."

"Why do you say that?" asked Miles, blue eyes glancing at him with curiosity written all over them.

The snow leopard shrugged. "I had a dream last night," he said, twiddling his fingers together. "I had a dream that I was using you... as a sort of... you know... hostage? I... I remember that the guy who freed me told me to do that if I ever needed to, but... I don't think I could do it..."

The kitsune simply looked up at the sky as the sun had begun to rise in the horizon. He mulled over this thought for a few minutes, Tai Lung growing increasingly uncomfortable in the silence. Finally, as the sun had showed most of itself, Miles turned to the snow leopard.

"If that happens..." he said morosely. "I probably deserve it."

Almost immediately, the cat tensed, ears flattening against his head as his pupils constricted in shock. Miles seemed not to notice this, as he had been gazin at the sky as the sun rose and a brilliant blue took over the sky.

"Anyway, we should probably get moving," said the kitsune as he stood up.

Tai Lung blinked, unsure of what to do as Miles' statement went unheard. Then seeing him walk away, the cat stood up quickly, following the fox with a great deal of apprehension in his gait as he lingered on what the kitsune had said about himself.

* * *

Tai Lung bounded across the Chinese landscape as he had been doing during the past few days, with Miles hanging on to his shoulders tightly. Fields of rice went by as Tai Lung and Miles continued on their journey.

The kitsune simply thought about what Tai Lung had said that morning. Something had been wrong with the way that the snow leopard had been acting earlier that morning. He had brushed it off after around noon or so, but there was still something about what Tai Lung had supposedly dreamed about. Miles was a little afraid of a hostage situation having to occur.

But then again, the kitsune knew that somewhere, he knew he deserved it for what he had done to Sonic all the years before.

He was suddenly jilted out of his thoughts when Tai Lung suddenly skidded straight to a halt on the landscape. Miles' eyes widened as he looked ahead, and then Tai Lung came to a halt quite a distance in front of a group of five, six individuals. In the distance, Miles was able to make out the forms of what looked to be a rather fat bear who looked quite different from Banjo, another predatory cat, a monkey, a bird, a snake, and what looked like a cricket sitting on top of the monkey's shoulder.

"Is that them?" asked Miles uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's them," replied Tai Lung tentatively. "The Dragon Warrior and his friends. The Dragon Warrior is the fat panda, by the way."

Despite the fear eminent in his voice, Tai Lung did not seem to be intimidated. Slowly, he stood up, the kitsune letting go of the snow leopard as they both looked at the Dragon Warrior.

"So, you came out to play, eh?" asked the male cat loudly.

"Buddy, you lost to me last year," said the panda as he and his entourage came forward. "And that was when I was alone. You really think you can win against myself _and_ the Furious Five?"

Tai Lung's claws came out with a soft sound of metal being drawn, and Miles instinctually stiffened. "I've got my ways, panda," replied the leopard, any hint of fright having evaporated by this point. "Make no mistake about that."

"What, by using your 'friend' as bait?" called out the cricket from where he was perched on the monkey's shoulder. "I don't think so! We're taking him back to the Jade Palace with us!"

Miles immediately frowned upon hearing this, stepping out from behind Tai Lung as he bared his teeth. "And what makes you think I'll go with you willingly?" asked the kitsune, suprising Tai Lung just the slightest bit.

"Does the prospect of getting home sound nice to you?" asked the other predatory cat in the group behind the Dragon Warrior. "One of your friends came to the Jade Palace. Cream's waiting for you, Miles Prower!"

Upon hearing this, the kitsune went stock still, his fur standing on end as he looked at the cat. He took a step back, shaking his head as tears nearly came to his eyes right there. Taking another step back, he brought his arm up, and brought his hand out in a sweeping motion.

"No!" he cried. "I'm not going to go back there! I don't want to look at... at them, damn it! They're all just gonna give me hell about what happened!"

"Kid, she's worried sick about you," replied the panda as the group came towards Tai Lung and Miles. "She--"

"She didn't tell you anything!" cried the kitsune loudly. "Her word's as good as trash! You'll have to take my dead body back to her!"

This exclamation shocked everybody in the opposing party to the point that even the female cat seemed to express this surprise. A silence hung uncomfortably in the air, and then the predatory cat that was by the panda crossed her arms.

"And how do you know you're not brainwashed?" she asked, dauntingly.

"Lady, I don't have the ability or the patience to do something like that," replied Tai Lung before Miles could ever open his mouth. "He told me a few things this 'Cream' person probably didn't." The snow leopard then got into a fighting stance, arms splayed out wide as a snarl was heard from him.

"You really don't want to give up, do you?" asked the bird warrior.

"They took everything from me!" cried Tai Lung. "I won't give up, even if it means my death! And you are not getting your hands on Miles, either!"

The panda shook his head, and then the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five worked their way into a fighting stance as Miles backed away from the fight instinctually. "Well, we've got no choice, then," he said. "You're going down. Again."

"After you, _Po_," replied the leopard, spitting out the name of the Dragon Warrior in pure disgust.

After saying this, Tai Lung leapt forward, claws out in their full glory as the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five all leapt in at around the same time.

Tai Lung was the first one to land a blow, hitting the fat panda straight in the belly with a dual palm strike. Knowing the ricochet that would come from Po's improvised style, Tai Lung then jumped onto his back to dodge the hands. Raising his feet, the panda instinctually grabbed a hold of them. Smirking at this, the leopard then rolled up so he stood on his feet, causing the panda to fall on his back just behind Tai Lung.

Freeing his feet quickly from Po's hold, the snow leopard then blocked a punch that was headed straight to his face from Tigress. As soon as he did this, he jumped up onto the panda's belly, and then he kicked at the leader of the Furious Five. She was undaunted, and catching the kick she threw Tai Lung off of the panda. The snow leopard landed on his feet after doing a full backflip, and landed in a semi-crouch, eyes glowing in fury.

Tai Lung then noticed the monkey racing towards him out of the corner of his eye. Jumping up quickly, he kicked the primate in the face before landing and jumping over to where he had noticed the snake trying to sneak up on him. Stepping on the back of the serpent's body, he then jumped up again and proceeded to kick in the direction of the bird that had come his way.

When he landed here, it then became a mess of blocking and dodging fists and feet while trying to land blows on Po and his entourage. Tai Lung found this to be getting progressively harder as every time he managed to successfully punch away one of the Five, they always seemed to come back quickly. The leopard continued fighting on the defensive despite this, however; he knew that trying to use the infamous nerve touch on Po would not work, but if he could manage to perform a few of the nerve touches on the Five it would even the playing field a little.

And indeed, when the bird had flown too far up, Tai Lung saw his chance. Blocking a quick blow from Po and performing a back flip, Tai Lung launched himself off the ground, and then his hand came out at a very high speed just below the bird's collarbone. A blue light was let out from the contact, and then Crane fell to the floor, paralyzed temporarily as Tai Lung touched down on the ground.

The cricket came at him next, but the leopard was ready, and then the cricket joined the bird in the brief paralysis on the ground. When Viper, Tigress, and Monkey all came flying at Tai Lung, his hand then darted out at all three of them, touching their nerve points with extreme precision as they all fell past him, completely incapacitated.

Po simply looked on at this, his body betraying shock but his face scrunched into a frown.

"Well, that evens the playing field a little," said Tai Lung as he stepped away from the five. "I think a one on one match will be more fair, yes?"

"Well, yeah, but really?" asked Po, pointing to his friends. "You want me to wake them up?"

"It's not too hard," replied Tai Lung as he slowly made his way to the panda. "Just rub them for a few seconds."

"Riiight..." replied Po uncertainly as he got into a fighting stance. "Whatever. I'm gonna kick your butt just like the last time!"

Tai Lung simply growled at this, however, and then he charged at the panda.

However, before Po could pull off the maneuver that had sent Tai Lung careening into the sky during their first encounter, Tai Lung surprised Po by jumping to the side just before the panda could let his belly out. This meant that Po's body weight threw him forward, and then Tai Lung was able to take advantage of this.

The panda, not to be outdone by Tai Lung, turned around and grabbed the leopard's wrist quickly. Jumping up, the panda then made a half circle, slamming Tai Lung into the ground powerfully enough to send him back up again. Despite this injury, Tai Lung was able to land on his feet when Po tried to slam him down again. Freeing his wrist from the hold of the Dragon Warrior, he then delivered a palm strike to the panda's face. This sent the panda stepping back a little bit, rubbing his nose.

He had then jumped to the side as Tai Lung jumped at him, legs forming into a kick as the foot missed the panda's body. Swirling around quickly, the panda suddenly seemed to notice how close to the tree-- and by connection, Miles-- he really was. A plan quickly formed in his mind as Tai Lung skidded along the earth.

As the snow leopard rushed back at him, the panda prepared his hand. This then caught the leopard off guard as his wrist was captured again. Spinning around rapidly, the panda then tossed Tai Lung farther away from the tree.

And Tai Lung realized too late that Po had easy access to Miles. This seemed to dishearten Tai Lung such that his eyes widened. However, right as his legs kicked into gear, Po had jumped over the tree nimbly, and suddenly he came forward, holding Miles up from the ground by the wrist, the kitsune's pack slung around his shoulder as he was hoisted up.

The snow leopard skidded to a halt, eventually stopping right in front of Po as the kitsune looked up defiantly at the panda.

"Yeah," he pointed out, pointing to Miles. "So, I'll be taking this guy home with me. But first, I've got a bit of business to take care of."

Tai Lung growled, shaking his head.

"I'm not falling for the Wuxi Finger Hold again," replied the leopard angrily. "What is this, using my friend against me?"

"Look, I didn't want to have to do this either," replied Po, sweeping his hand out in front of him. "But he's got friends that are concerned about him, and I'm not gonna let you get away with that. I'll tell you what. You leave me alone now, and I promise on good fortune that I'll have a good match with you to determine who is better once and for all later. I'd think you'd go for that, yes?"

Before Tai Lung could show any kind of expression towards this proposition, however, Miles' hand darted in his pack. "I'll tell _you_ what!" he exclaimed. "You're going to let me go and let us go free, or I'll kill myself!"

And in a gesture that left both Po and Tai Lung speechless, the kitsune grabbed the carving knife from his pack and held it up to his own throat without even breaking a sweat. Miles did not let up his defiant stare either, which unnerved Po and frightened Tai Lung.

"M... Miles...?" asked Tai Lung, voice shaking. "W... what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Put me down!" cried the kitsune, pressing the blade against his own neck. "I'd rather _die_ then have to face... _them_! Put me down, or you're gonna regret this!"

Po's expression was saddened as he slowly let the kitsune down. Even more reluctantly, the panda unhanded the fox.

And just before either party could react, a cloud of dirt suddenly shot up from where Miles was. Po shielded his eyes as the dirt settled, and when it had cleared he was shocked to find that Miles and Tai Lung had both disappeared from view.

Po was left standing there for a good few minutes, incredibly confused over what had just transpired as a whole series of thoughts began to swirl around his head.

Shaking his head in defeat, the panda simply walked over to where the paralyzed bodies of the Furious Five were and began to shake them awake.

Tigress was among the first ones to be rubbed awake; she jumped up, getting into a fighting stance instinctively.

"Bah, it's no use," replied Po as he rubbed Mantis and Viper awake at exactly the same time. "He already got away."

As Po slowly rubbed Monkey and crane awake, the leader of the Furious Five glared at Po. "What?" she cried, angrily. "You let him--?"

"I don't know how it happened either!" Po exclaimed, waving his arms around in the air wildly. "I had found an opening to save this 'Tails' kid, or whatever. I do that, and the next thing I knew the kid was threatening to kill himself if I didn't take my hands offa him! And when I unhanded him, he and Tai Lung just... disappeared!" The panda finished this with a gesture as the Furious Five looked at him incredulously.

Tigress looked around the landscape, seeing a cloud of dust dying away in the distance. Quickly calculating where they could go to get to the Jade Palace from there, she nodded.

"I think I know where we can intercept them," she said. "It'll take two days, but I think we'll be able to catch them again."

"Okay," said Po, shrugging as the five all stood up. "Lead the way, Tigress."

The leader of the Furious Five nodded, and then the rest followed closely by. Mantis, was the only one who seemed to notice the slightly distracted face of the panda. Noticing this, the insect jumped onto his shoulder, perching there as the panda moved along.

"Something's wrong," began the mantis almost immediately. "What happened?"

Po shook his head softly as they moved along.

"Tai Lung couldn't have rehearsed that," said the panda so only Mantis could hear. "When... 'Tails', or whatever, threatened to kill himself, Tai Lung was as shocked as I was... I'm not sure what to make of that."

The insect thought about this, looking ahead as Po forged on behind Tigress. "I dunno," he replied. "Double-acts are kind of crazy."

"But it wasn't fake shock, even!" insisted the panda. "Tails literally just took off; I don't think even Tai Lung could just disappear the way he did by himself..."

"Well, I dunno what to tell you," replied Mantis. "Other than, we'll see what happens..."

With this, the insect leapt off of Po's shoulder, and then the group simply continued on its way.

* * *

When Miles had finally skidded to a halt by a rather large steppe, he gently let Tai Lung down and rather quickly deposited the carving knife in his pack.

Almost instantly, Tai Lung had begun yelling.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" he cried, standing up as the shock was apparent in his eyes. "I could've gone after him and taken you back myself!"

"_No_." The kitsune's reply was short, biting even. It was enough to make Tai Lung wince. "That is only a 'maybe'. I wanted to make sure it was a 'definitely'."

"I understand that, but _holding the knife to your own throat_?" asked the snow leopard, showing rare signs of distress as he yelled at his companion. "I would've rather held one of my claws there than have to see you do that!"

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," replied the kitsune angrily. "I don't see what's so hard to grasp about this."

Tai Lung sighed angrily. "Miles," he said sternly. "You almost killed yourself today. How can you not see what is--?"

"_I don't give a shit!_" replied the kitsune, finally turning to face Tai Lung. "I probably should have anyway! That way... that way..."

And the kitsune simply broke down, muttering whatever he had on the tip of his tongue as he fell to the floor sobbing.

Closing his yellow eyes and kneeling down, Tai Lung patted Miles' shoulder comfortingly.

"I still think you shouldn't have," he said. "For whatever you did back in your real home a year ago, it's probably not as bad as what I did..."

Miles shook his head. "No," he insisted. "It's still worse..."

"Well, then why don't you tell me what happened?" asked Tai Lung softly.

"It's still... too painful..." the kitsune replied, shaking his head. "I still don't want to talk about it..."

The snow leopard shook his head in great distaste as he glared off to the side. "Okay, okay," he said, agreeing to this despite the voice in his head telling him not to. "But Miles, you must promise me something."

"What?" asked the kitsune softly as he looked up at his friend and dried a few tears from his fur.

"You must promise me never to threaten the Dragon Warrior with your own death," the cat said. "Ever again. I don't care how dire the circumstances are, or how many 'maybes' there are with the options I'm given. If you _ever_ do that again, I'm going to nerve touch you as a last resort to protect you. All right?"

The kitsune nodded as he sat up finally getting the courage to look Tai Lung straight in the eye again. "All right," he said. "I'll do that."

"Good." With this, Tai Lung hoisted the depressed kitsune onto his shoulders. "By the way, I don't know what you did to be able to run so fast, but I am glad you did."

"You're welcome," replied the kitsune softly.

The leopard nodded, looking down to where he projected the Jade Palace would be. "Okay," he said. "Now let's move before the Five have a chance to catch up to us."

And without another word, Tai Lung rushed forward, Miles holding on as his companion darted forward very quickly, running off as quickly as he could in the daylight.


	9. Cream: Chapter 4

Yep, figures the carving knife would come in handy.

So yeah, that's the beginning of the setup for a huge downward spiral that starts around the end of Cream/Shifu's chapter 5. So what to expect? Once we get there, look out below, because shit's gonna be hitting the fan all over the place...

But before that, let's get a little more character development plus some foreshadowing in, yes?

* * *

Cream: Chapter 4

The sun was high over the Jade Palace that afternoon. Cream had not been approached by the elder kung fu master at all that morning, so she had taken the time to explore the palace itself.

She had thus wondered to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. The rabbit was awed by the view below. She had never truly had the time to admire the sheer beauty of the land she was in until right then. She looked down at the valley below her, admiring nature at its most beautiful. As she stood by the tree, she thought about how much her friends must have been missing her presence and how much Amy would have loved to set her eyes on the view that was beneath the rabbit at the time.

She heard a light series of footsteps behind her, and turning she found Shifu walking along, smiling at the young rabbit.

"I see you've found something... else to do here..." said the kung fu master as he moved so he stood next to the rabbit.

"I'm just thinking, is all," she said, gesturing out into the valley. "This is a beautiful."

The red panda nodded as he looked out into the valley. "And yet, you'd never notice such beauty unless you stopped to take a look at it," replied Shifu insightfully. "Is there anything else going through your mind?"

Cream laughed good naturedly, caramel eyes lighting up. "Lots of things..." she said. "The view is so completely different from what I've got at home that it's making me think about everything."

"Really?" Shifu asked, raising an eyebrow as one of his ears twitched. "How is it different?"

The rabbit waved her hand, gesturing towards the valley. "We don't have stuff like this where I'm from," she said plainly. "Instead, what we have for where I live, is tall building, tall building, and another tall building." She pointed at three distinct spots within the valley in their view. "And all around that, smaller buildings. And at the foot of that, we've got grey roads and people always moving around, always too busy doing stuff. It doesn't help that there's no vegetation either."

Shifu's glance cast a light of curiosity on the rabbit. "Is your home a city?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Beijing is quite similar," replied Shifu. "It also has most of the things you described. The buildings, the roads... but it has the emperor's palace. And that is a sight to behold how it seems to go to the heavens."

Cream shrugged. "I dunno," she said. "You'd have to see one of these cities for yourself... The buildings were really tall. Like, they went higher to the sky than even the Jade Palace!"

"Is that so?" asked Shifu.

"Yeah," Cream replied. "The city is... a pretty wild place to live. But it had its strong points too..."

"Like your friends?" asked the red panda.

The rabbit beamed at Shifu, the smile on her face wider than he had ever seen it. "_Especially_ my friends," she said. "All of them are really good people... I was especially thinking of this one friend of mine..."

Shifu's eyebrow rose again. "Who might you be talking about," he asked.

"Well, her name was Amy Rose," began Cream. "She... she was a rather crazy one. She had a bad temper and always got on someone's nerves, but she always backed up those she cared about all the way through. She was... a really devoted friend. And also hopelessly in love." Cream shook her head, chuckling softly as she thought about Amy's incessant crush on Sonic. "She was madly in love with Sonic before he died. I remember she'd often get into saving the world looking for him, and always supporting him before asking him to marry her. And he would always say no and get as far away as he could from her."

"Sounds like an obsession to me," replied Shifu, the tone of his voice showing slight concern.

"It wasn't obsession, trust me," the rabbit said, waving her arms in front of her. "Sonic opened up to her after a really, really long time. And in the last few days of his life... it had to have been love. Amy was there for him through everything he went through..." Here, the rabbit paused lightly. "She was devastated when he died. She truly, truly was. I hope she's gotten over it by now."

"I am sure she has," said Shifu in an attempt to bring Cream back to happier thoughts. "Two years is an awfully long time to mourn the same person..."

Cream nodded. "I just hope she's doing okay is all," she said. "But I've got faith in her. She was always a good friend. She was one of the people who strongly supported my decision to find Tails..."

Shifu nodded at this. "I do wonder how Po and the Five are doing in that respect..."

"Well, don't they have to stop by Beijing first?" asked Cream innocently. "I mean, to, well, drop off Tai Lung?"

The red panda's jolly mood dropped instantly just by the mentioning of the name of his former student/son. Instantly, the rabbit covered her mouth, knowing she had said too much.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have said that!" said the rabbit quickly. "I'm sorry!"

Shifu said barely a word, looking out into the valley as the mood was completely spoiled. Slowly he nodded, shaking his head.

"It's not your fault," replied the red panda slowly. "I only wish I had the strength to face what must happen..."

Thinking of something, the rabbit looked to Shifu. "Well, maybe it's not in his destiny to get himself killed..." the rabbit pointed out. "Maybe there's something else in mind..."

The red panda shook his head. "That is not what I mean," he said.

Cream was apprehensive about Shifu's tone. She figured she had really hit a nerve, but curiousity tell her to keep asking. "What do you mean?" she said finally.

"I have seen visions in my dreams," replied the elderly red panda as his soft ocean blue eyes looked down to Cream. "They foretell a death to come in four days. And it is a death that will change everything."

Cream was shocked by this. "You... you get visions?" she asked candidly.

"I am the keeper of the Jade Palace," he replied. "I get them from time to time."

"So, the death... Tai Lung's death is going to change everything?" asked Cream, being careful not to sound overly ecstatic lest she seem insensitive to her counterpart.

"It is not Tai Lung's death," replied Shifu. "That is the problem. It is somebody else's death."

The rabbit's eyes suddenly widened. "So, it's not Tai Lung that's gonna die?" she asked.

"No," he replied.

"So then who is?" asked the rabbit quickly.

"I should not tell you," replied Shifu. "The visions implied that there will be nothing anybody can do to save that person. It would only be more painful for you to know..."

Cream nodded, understanding why the red panda was distraught. There were still a few questions hovering around her head when she did so, but she decided to leave them be at the moment.

"Okay," she said. "I won't ask anything else... But I expect you to tell me everything when the fourth day rolls around."

A hint of regret seemed to shine in Shifu's eyes for barely a milisecond as he nodded. "I thank you for understanding," he said. "Come. Let us go have something to eat."

The red panda walked away from the peach tree slowly, Cream standing behind for a few seconds wondering what the look in his eyes that had barely flashed by could have meant. Shrugging and deciding it was not important, she followed the kung fu master as he walked down the mountain.

* * *

When Cream and Shifu returned to the Jade Palace, the rabbit paused in the large room where the Dragon Scroll was kept. Thinking a little, the rabbit skipped over to Shifu.

"You know..." she said, pointing at the candles that were lit to the side of the room. "You always seem to have those candles everywhere. Why?"

Shifu looked at the candles that Cream was talking about. "Tradition," he replied. "We light one whenever we meditate."

"Oh..." she said softly. "Inner peace, huh?"

"Inner peace," replied Shifu, a small smile on his face as he looked at the candles. "I remember the days when Master Oogway was still alive..."

"Really?" asked Cream. "How many candles did he have?"

Shifu's eyes lit up as he talked about his old master. "He had thousands of candles," he said. "And whenever he would meditate, he would always blow them out one by one, until they all were blown out."

The rabbit's eyes widened in awe at this, looking at the prayer candles silently. "And what happened to him?" asked Cream.

"He... ascended into heaven," he said carefully. "And I am not flowering it up, either; he literally ascended into heaven..."

When Shifu clarified his position, the rabbit rose one of her eyebrows in confusion. "Ascended into heaven?" she asked perplexedly. "How did he do that?"

"That is one thing that will forever remain a mystery to all of us," replied Shifu as he began to move further into the building. "I sometimes wonder how he's doing up in heaven..."

Cream smiled, following Shifu. "I'm sure he's doing just fine," replied the rabbit. "If what you said is true, he should be doing very well up there... He must also enjoy it a lot, especially since he... well, you know, founded all of this?"

"That is true," said Shifu as they moved along. "I hope he has an inner peace that can last forever now..."

The rabbit nodded as they moved along in the giant room. "I actually wonder if he's met Sonic yet," she mused. "That would be a handful for him, I can tell you."

A laugh came out from the kung fu master, shaking his head as he did. "I doubt it," he replied gleefully. "Oogway was a very patient man; I am sure he would understand Sonic better than any of you did."

"Well, that's out there, don't you think?" she asked. "We all know he loved to be free!"

"Then freedom is what he is getting, I am certain," replied Shifu, still thinking about a blue hedgehog socializing with his old master and finding the thought quite amusing.

Cream simply shrugged at this, and the two of them continued talking about Oogway all the way over to the dormitories.


	10. Miles: Chapter 5

Okay. So, we've found out that Shifu's been getting visions of a death.

But whose death is it? Why did Shifu seem to flinch briefly when Cream was all 'you better tell me in the four days after today'? How does it change everything?

That's for me to know and you to find out! On with the next chapter!

* * *

Miles: Chapter 5

_It was more vivid this time._

_The blood seemed to spray all over the place._

_His cry of anguish was clearer than it had been in a long time._

_The tears streaming down Amy's face as she held the one she loved the most. Sonic was already dead by then._

_His own gloves... how the blood was pronounced on them._

* * *

Miles woke up abruptly, sitting up with wide eyes. He panted softly, a cold sweat having soaked through his fur in his sleep.

Glancing around tepidly, he looked over to where Tai Lung was peacefully sleeping. Shaking his head, the kitsune simply rubbed his eyes.

It was the fourth time that Miles had tried to go to sleep that night. But no matter what happened, he always woke up to the same variation of his recurring dream.

Shaking his head as a tear escaped his eye, the kitsune hugged his legs closer to him, resolving to stay up the entire rest of the night. He had not thought about the incident that had occurred those two years ago so much within the span of a single day. And yet, the recollection was becoming far too much for the kitsune to be able to handle. He had been unable to sleep at night; the nightmares that he had been having throughout his attempts to get some sleep did not want to let up.

Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he took to hugging his legs through the remainder of the night instead, sobbing softly so as not to wake up the snow leopard as his mind addled itself with thoughts of self-hatred and anger.

* * *

When Tai Lung had finally woken up, Miles and Tai Lung had both decided to get a move on early; no doubt the Furious Five would try to follow them to where they were, and Tai Lung wanted to stay a couple steps ahead of them so he could separate the Five from the Dragon Warrior should they ever have an encounter again.

And just after the sun had completely risen over the horizon, Tai Lung arrived at a huge valley, the way across dotted by a series of suspension bridges hovering over a very thick mist. Miles looked over from behind the snow leopard, surprised at this.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's the Devil's Mouth," he replied. "Supposedly, this chasm is supposed to be deep enough to see the center of the earth itself."

Miles nodded at this, sort of out of the loop due to the new waves of depression hitting his person. "That's ridiculous," he replied, trying to sound like everything was all right. "There's nothing that goes that deep."

"That's what I said when I fell under that veil of fog," replied Tai Lung, looking down. "It happened a year ago when I faced the Five on my second journey to the Jade Palace. It's just a bunch of forests down there."

"Hm..." thought the kitsune, the gears in his head turning. "Then maybe we can go down there and get under the radar for a bit?"

Tai Lung glanced at his companion. "Good luck finding a way down there," he said, adding a chuckle. "Only reason I didn't fall too far was because I was tied to the remains of one of these bridges..."

Miles jumped off of Tai Lung and looked down into the misty abyss in front of them. Studying it, a plan formed in his head and he stood up.

"I've got a way," he said. "Here."

Without waiting for any confirmation from the snow leopard, Miles took a hold of Tai Lung's wrists. The leopard was about to object when he suddenly heard a strang whirring noise coming from the kitsune. Before he could say much, he suddenly gawked as Miles was in the air above, flying by the twisting of his two tails. He would have commented, but then Tai Lung felt his feet rise off of the ground against his own accord. Looking up at Miles, the cat smiled, shaking his head.

"You're the sneakiest kid I ever met, you know that?" he asked.

"No," replied the kitsune. "Now hang on tight, and if I tire out, we should be down far enough to land safely."

And then the fox flew over the edge, and with this he slowly descended into the mist below them. Tai Lung looked at the cliff face in wonder as they descended, noting how noble the grey rock seemed to be against the fog beneath them. The kitsune had actually gotten rather deep into the fog when he began to tire out from the constant motion of his tails. Panting, he slowed down.

Thankfully, Tai Lung had seemed to notice when they had started falling a little faster than normal, and so he released the kitsune, and falling through the fog the rest of the way he caught sight of a bunch of trees beneath him. Quickly figuring out where the branches were, he fell through the gaps with stunning grace, and landed on the ground even more gracefully than that. Looking up as soon as he landed, he heard Tails simply fall through the branches, matter raining down on the ground as the kitsune fell just a short distance away from Tai Lung's feet. Somehow, the fox had landed on his feet, and then he rubbed the back of his head.

"Ow..." he said, looking up at the branches that had broken his fall. "That really, really hurt."

"I can imagine..." replied Tai Lung, fighting back a chuckle. "So, we're here. Now what?"

"We get moving," replied Miles with a shrug. "That seems like the only thing to do, at any rate."

Tai Lung nodded, grabbing a hold of the kitsune's wist as he moved along. "Well, then let's go, shall we?" he asked.

Miles stiffened at the snow leopard's touch, finding it to be too similar to Sonic's touch and immediately putting him back in the depression he had been sunk in earlier that morning. "Sure," he said.

The leopard paused briefly, ears flickering briefly as he thought. But then he simply moved on in the fog, the kitsune being held on to as he was led forward by Tai Lung.

* * *

When the duo had stopped for the day, Miles had simply sat in the same place, waiting as Tai Lung was breaking off branches from the trees surrounding them to make a suitable fire for them. He said nothing, instead letting Tai Lung collect his firewood. The silence was a little much for Miles, but for keeping everything in

"Well, that was rather cool what you did there with... flying and all," said the snow leopard, trying to lift the kitsune's depression without actually mentioning it. "I wonder... how did you learn how to do that?"

"Beats me," replied Miles glumly as he looked at the fog. "I just... I just know how to fly is all there really is to that..."

"Hm..." grumbled Tai Lung as he arranged the sticks he found in front of him. "I wonder... did you use it all the time before you came here?"

"Yeah," he replied. "It always helped my friends, you know."

The snow leopard had begun to get frustrated with Miles already over his short and overly morose replies. He had taken it the entire day, but Tai Lung knew he was reaching the end of his patience with Miles' depression. Deciding to finally get it over with, the snow leopard found himself kneeling in front of Miles. Before yelling at him, however, the snow leopard hesitated, thinking yelling might do more harm than good.

"You know, you've been sounding awfully depressed today," Tai Lung said. "Is... is it what happened yesterday?"

The kitsune sighed in response, turning around so the snow leopard could not look into his eyes. "Yeah," he replied softly. "I've just been thinking about what happened two years ago is all... It all started yesterday..."

"Really?" he asked, trying to get more into the heart of the matter. "And why?"

Miles shook his head, tearing up slightly. "It's just been so hard..." he said. "I... I've been having the same dream for two years now. Dreams of what happened that day."

"Dreams?" Tai Lung asked, eyes wide in wonder. "That can't be all that bad..."

"But they were more vivid last night," replied the kitsune, shaking his head. "Tai Lung... They're horrible, horrible dreams. I barely got any sleep last night thanks to them. I... I think I might have been thinking too much about the incident..."

"Well, those thoughts are partly your fault, you know," pointed out the snow leopard. "If you hadn't threatened to kill yourself... well, you wouldn't--"

"Be sitting here, I know," interrupted Miles quickly.

Tai Lung shook his head, frowning slightly as he crossed his arms in front of him. "That wasn't what I was going to say," he replied. "I was going to say that you wouldn't be so depressed."

"A little extra depression isn't going to hurt much," replied Miles with a shrug. "I've had my share of it. And I'm sure you have too."

The snow leopard's ears flattened against his head, surprised at this. "Well, I've just been generally angry," said Tai Lung. "Not depressed. And you've been very noticeably depressed since yesterday. Life can't be that bad."

The kitsune shrugged, shaking is head. "You really think it's not that bad?" he asked uncertainly. "I've been wondering the world for two years, trying to get over the death of my brother, and you're angry at everything. And yet you're still saying that it's not that bad?"

"Yes," the snow leopard replied, gestuing with his paws as he continued. "Sure, I was in prison for twenty years, and sure I got defeated, and sure I'm still angry at Shifu and Po and everybody else... But seeing you here... There's gotta be more to life than holding the same grudge against a group of people. Your presence taught me that much."

Miles glanced at Tai Lung briefly as the predatory cat continued. "Sounds corny, I'm sure," he said. "But... I really wouldn't have minded if you were anybody else when you threatened to kill yourself yesteday. But you saved my life when nobody else would. Miles, trust me when I tell you you're the last person who should be depressed. I don't know why I care so much... but Miles... you've effected something in me I haven't felt in a long time. I... I care about what happens to you. I don't know why, or how, but I feel I owe you my life." The snow leopard looked around, trying to find his words. "Life can't be all about holding grudges, Miles. That's nonsense. And it can't be about grieving the same person for two years, either."

The kitsune shook his head at this. "Don't say anything else..." he replied, baring his teeth as a tear rolled down his cheek. "That's a lie, and you know it!"

Taken aback by this statement, Tai Lung's eyes widened in surprise. "But... but--"

"Don't!" exclaimed the kitsune, abruptly cutting the leopard off. "You don't know the monster that I am..."

"Monster?" asked the leopard. "But you're not a--!"

"Good night!" exclaimed Miles, abruptly turning around to lie down on the ground as Tai Lung looked at him bewildered.

The snow leopard looked back to the unstarted fire and the piece of meat that was laying next to it. "But you haven't even eaten dinner yet!" he said.

"Then I'll go hungry for tonight," replied the fox sternly. "I said good night!"

The words hit Tai Lung hard, almost like a touch to his nerve points. Shaking his head and grumbling, the leopard decided to leave it be for the moment. He swore to himself that he would find out more in the morning, however, and so turning around he started the fire and began cooking the piece of meat. As he did, he made a mental note to cut a piece for Miles' breakfast the next morning.

Or would have, if not for the swirl of thoughts inhabiting his head. What could possibly have made the two-tailed fox grieve for far longer than what was really reasonable? What could have made Miles not care about his own self, and yet cared for a criminal like Tai Lung himself? Why did he hate himself so much? And what exactly did he dream about?

Tai Lung shook his head, instead turning his attention to the fire in front of him. He would ask tomorrow if Miles kept up the depression.


	11. Shifu: Chapter 5

All right. Last time, Tails and Tai Lung argued a bit. Trust me, I've got a huge yelling fight slated for next chapter, followed by a huge fist fight, and then by *le gasp* a dream sequence.

Yep. In an homage to the original premise of TTLG, there will be a few key dream sequences that have a very strong bearing on the plot's progression. This time, it's gonna be a typical motivational speech on stuff, but it's gonna have a huge, huge effect on Tails.

But for now, let's start Pennance's downward spiral, yes?

* * *

Shifu: Chapter 5

Shifu sat in his room that night, meditating in front of a prayer candle that lit the small room acceptably enough.

It was enough for the aging kung fu master to be able to concentrate on his thoughts, at any rate.

And there had been quite a few thoughts spiraling through his head. The first were visions of Tai Lung and Tails, as Cream had called her friend so often; the two of them seemed to be hugging each other, both sobbing quite loudly as they whispered to each other. This was intercut with scenes of the rabbit he had become rather fond of being stuck in situations she should not have to be in.

And then there were the visions of death he had been recieving. A death that would change everything on a personal level and a level of China's peace.

He had little time to dwell on these thoughts, for then the door behind him opened. Opening an eye quickly, Shifu sat still, already knowing who it was.

"What is it, Cream?" asked the red panda softly.

"Master Shifu...?" asked the rabbit, a little bewildered that he had been able to tell she was there. "I wanted to ask you something..."

"Go ahead," assured the kung fu master, sitting on the mat the entire time as he heard Cream's footsteps approach.

"I've been thinking..." she began. "I've been thinking these thoughts for a very long time..." She hesitated slightly, unsure of how to continue. "I wonder... how far do you think Tails has gone in his regrets?"

Shifu was silent as he contemplated the question in his head slowly. His ears twitched slightly as he did, his tail swishing back and forth ever faithfully to his heartbeat. The rabbit was about to say something else when he spoke up.

"I don't think he is beyond help," replied the master slowly. "We all have things we regret. And like all things, regrets stay with us forever... But we can learn to live with them, and we can learn not to question the 'what if'."

Cream was not convinced by this. "But Tails had to go through some pretty awful stuff," replied the rabbit. "I don't know if he'll ever fully heal himself..."

"Cream, I have had many regrets..." replied Shifu at length. "The greatest regret I have? Raising Tai Lung the way I did... I wish I had done everything differently with him... But I had my chance to fix all that."

"Po?" asked the rabbit.

"Yes," Shifu said, closing his eyes again. "I trained him as much as I could as well, but this time because I was under a time constraint. But there was something different about my training of Po that stood away from Tai Lung's training. Po... Po was already sweet and innocent. Somehow, I felt myself not wanting to change that. And in doing so, he understood the secret of the Dragon Scroll. That... was my pennance for my actions towards Tai Lung."

Cream nodded, but she still was not satisfied. "But what can Tails do? To find his own peace, I mean."

The kung fu master paused as his ear twitched uncomfortably. "Cream... may I tell you a secret?"

"Of course," replied the rabbit innocently. "What is it?"

Shifu nodded. "I have been receiving more visions," he replied. "They are of Tails and Tai Lung... They seem to be holding each other, crying in my visions..."

"So they are each other's redemptions is what you're saying?" asked the rabbit.

The red panda smiled at how much Cream had picked up on. "Precisely," replied the panda happily. "I can never hear exactly what they say, but they were smiling... as if everything was going to be all right..."

"But is that a good thing for China?" asked the rabbit inquisitively.

"Only time will tell," stated Shifu slowly. "Anyways, you should be off to bed now."

"I was on my way," the rabbit countered. "But since that question popped up when I passed by, I thought I might ask. Sorry if I bothered you."

Shifu seemed to chuckle at this. "Cream, you know that you don't bother me when you enter my quarters with valid questions," he replied.

"Okay..." replied the rabbit. "Good night, Master Shifu!"

"Good night, Cream," the red panda said in kind.

And with this, Shifu heard the rabbit leave the room, closing the door softly behind her as she exited. Smiling softly at the rabbit, the panda reflected on the training he had given her earlier that morning.

* * *

Shifu was still meditating late into the night when he suddenly thought he heard a series of footsteps in the hall. His ear twitched slightly as he took note of this, thinking maybe Cream had not gone to sleep.

But when the footsteps trawled right past his door, he suddenly had the strange apprehension that something was wrong.

Sighing and blowing out the prayer candle that was laid out before him, Shifu stood up, creeping towards his door without making a sound.

Right as he got at the door, he suddenly heard some signs of a struggle coming from the end of the hallway. Ears raised high in fear, Shifu slowly slid the door of his room open and suddenly heard things much clearer.

The sounds were coming from Cream's room.

Eyes wide, Shifu slowly advanced to the rabbit's quarters, partly not to make any noise and mostly to avoid giving him away to whoever had decided to enter the rabbit's room. He kept himself on high alert.

Or perhaps the Dragon Warrior had returned. But Shifu thought that possibility very unlikely anyways, as they were most likely heading to Beijing with Tai Lung in tow. Or so, he dreaded.

This possibility was very quickly drowned out, as then the sound of teeth sinking into flesh was barely noticeable. A small yelp of pain came from within the room, and Shifu braced himself for something.

"Master Shifu!" cried Cream's shrill voice into the night. "Hel--!"

And she was abruptly quieted. Almost as if somebody had covered her mouth.

Shifu was quick to act after hearing this; he slammed the door of Cream's room open quickly, not bothering with stealth as he knew something was terribly wrong.

And his fears were confirmed rather quickly. He had opened the door just in time to see a figure dressed in black holding Cream with a hand over her mouth, jumping right outside of a window that led outside. The figure seemed to be jumping amongst the trees, Cream looking back at Shifu with incredibly frightened caramel eyes.

Shifu shook his head and jumped out of the window right after the figure in black. The figure turned his head slightly, and noticing this he picked up the pace.

The red panda was not to be deterred; despite having a broken leg he was able to move quite fast when he needed to. This was such a case.

Thus, the kung fu master barrelled after the figure that had kidnapped Cream as they both seemed to dash down the mountain. Shifu kept up despite the many weavings in the path that the figure had tried to take to confuse him. All the while, Shifu kept up the chase as quickly as he could.

As he did, Shifu tried to figure out who the figure was. It was too small to belong to Tai Lung, so he knew that his former student was out of the question in terms of guilt. It looked like it had wings, however...

Shifu brushed this aside, he was doing good at giving chase, but he was not catching up as much as he would have liked. It was bad enough that they were slowly winding their way out onto the Valley of Peace, but Shifu had the feeling that Cream would be abducted well under the cover of the Devil's Mouth. He knew he had to catch up sometime before then or else run the risk of losing the rabbit in there.

As he thought of this, he suddenly realized that they were running along the stairs that led to the Jade Palace, and before Shifu knew what was happening he was traversing the rooftops of the Valley of Peace.

The red panda found himself quickly running over the rooftops, trying to catch up to the figure in black. Cream simply stared back at him with those frightened eyes the entire time, almost as if pleading to stop this chase.

Shifu's eyes were light by comparison, as if to say 'I'm trying'.

And almost as quickly as this reassurance was found, the panda suddenly found himself running along the mountain range beyond the valley. Here, the agent took to wing, holding Cream by the legs as Shifu ran as quickly as he could to catch up with them. Shifu was finding himself unsuccessful, however, and he finally began to take to bounding off of trees, mountainsides, whatever was by the road. This meant that Shifu was able to travel much faster and keep up with the person who had kidnapped Cream with greater ease. This tactic eventually found itself losing substance as they went up the sloped road, however. Because of that, Shifu found that he was slowly beginning to lag.

The adrenaline pumped through the panda's veins as he began running faster than he was sure he had ever moved in his life. The desperation was beginning to get to him, and slowly he began to catch up with Cream and the kidnapper again. The rabbit's eyes seemed to light up, thinking that Shifu could actually save her and that she would be all right.

But alas, Shifu looked in front of him just in time to see the first suspension bridge that hung over the Devil's Mouth. Cream's kidnapper noticed this too, and then he flew a little higher just as Shifu had jumped up to grab a hold of Cream's outstretched hand.

The bird then made a swerve to the right, and then he essentially dove into the fog at a very high velocity, disappearing from sight as the mist billowed slightly from the bird's entrance.

Shifu's soft cerulean eyes stared into the abyss, trying to see where the mist billowed so he could give chase from his side of the Devil's Mouth. However, he found that the billow had disappeared long before he had ever successfully managed to keep track of it. The kung fu master's eyes were wide as he saw this, the silence around him becoming too much to bear.

Looking back to where he figured the Jade Palace would be and then looking back at the Devil's Mouth, he shrugged.

"I hope destiny runs its course by the time I find you again," he said, holding his hands in front of him and bowing. "The Dragon Scroll is unguarded, and yet destiny calls all of us."

With this gesture, Shifu jumped over the suspension bridge's edge and broke out into a run along the cliff face. He eventually ran all the way down the cliff, and disappeared into the mist in search of the rabbit girl he had taken to liking.


	12. Miles: Chapter 6

And thus begins the downward spiral.

So Cream got kidnapped. What happens next? Huge argument, fistfight, and a dream sequence. And then we continue the downward spiral.

So let's get the argument scene out of the way, shall we? On with the chapter!

* * *

Miles: Chapter 6

Tai Lung and Miles both trudged through the forest, the snow leopard looking back every few seconds to make sure the kitsune was still following him. The mist was very thick that morning; the leopard knew he could not afford to waste too much time trudging through the forest, even if he knew the Furious Five would likely be as lost as he was at the moment. His eyes were able to see rather far into the mist, but he knew that the five also had Tigress to aid their vision. Thinking of this, he moved quickly.

Miles seemed rather morose behind him, but it was due more to having had no sleep to speak of than the kitsune would have liked to admit. Gingerly, he kept his eyes trained on Tai Lung's tail, knowing that if he followed it he wouldn't be lost.

The silence between the two was rather overpowering, such that it was making the snow leopard nothing short of uncomfortable. He decided to enage in some conversation, hoping the Furious Five were still a little distance away.

"So, why the silence?" asked the snow leopard.

"No reason," replied Miles plainly. "You just haven't asked me anything, that's all."

"And you haven't asked me much either," Tai Lung pointed out as they moved among the foilage. "I don't have to be the one that starts all our conversations, you know."

Miles shook his head. "But I don't really have anything to ask," said the kitsune softly, betraying some sense of shame. "I've had all my questions answered..."

Tai Lung slammed his fist against a tree. The dull thud that resulted from this caused the kitsune to look over to him. Slowly, Tai Lung turned around, anger prevalent in his eyes. Miles braced himself for the worst.

"Damn it, what is with you?" asked Tai Lung suddenly. "I've never seen you smile even _once_ since I've met you! And you're always generally depressed, two years after your friend died!"

"Why the hell are you so angry?" asked Miles suddenly.

"Because you won't say anything about what happened to you!" replied the snow leopard as he began pacing around the kitsune. "If you'd just tell me already, I think it would be better on your end! Hell, I already told you everything about myself! You know about Po, the Dragon Scroll, Shifu, how I hate them all... Why won't you tell me what bothers you? I already did!"

"Even the bits that you deny?" asked the kitsune defensively.

Thrown off by this question, the snow leopard raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Miles shook his head, a frown forming on his face. "Damn it, Tai Lung, don't you get it?" he asked. "You weren't proclaimed the Dragon Warrior because your master Oogway knew you woudn't get the Dragon Scroll's secret!"

"Secret?" replied Tai Lung angrily. "What the hell do you mean? There is no secret!"

"There were no words on that scroll!" replied the kitsune. "All the other scrolls you'd seen had words on them! You would have been greatly disappointed and would've gone on a bigger rampage than you would have earlier!"

"That is not true!" cried the snow leopard angrily, slamming his fist against a tree. "If only I had been given a chance, things would have been different!"

Miles shook his head. "But that's the thing," he replied. "You _don't_ want to admit that you would've been angrier had you just seen the Dragon Scroll. You know you would've done the same thing if you had seen it!"

"It wouldn't have wasted twenty years of my life, at least!" cried Tai Lung furiously. "Twenty years of my life that I could have spent defending China, I was given to rot in Chohr Gom with that sick bastard Vachir!"

Miles opened his mouth to speak but found he was abruptly cut off as Tai Lung continued. "You know what they did to me in Chohr Gom?" he asked, his patience having already run its course. "They tortured me! For twenty years straight! They tortured me and tortured me and tortured me! The only reprieve I ever got was when Shifu or Oogway came by to visit me, and even then they threatened to kill me if I told them anything about it. I had to keep all those whippings and beatings and the happenings with the machines to myself! And it hurt me every damn time I looked at Shifu or Oogway and had to hide it! Damn it, Miles, do you have any idea how hard that was for me? Do you?"

The kitsune was silent for a few seconds, azure eyes shining in shock. His mouth hung open briefly, which he then closed and shook his head.

"You still don't have any idea what I've done," he replied. "I should be in your position for forty years for what I did!"

"That is not true!" replied the snow leopard, pointing down at the ground as he advanced on the kitsune. "What you did can't have been worse than what I did!"

"It is so!" replied Miles, obstinately crossing his arms in front of him and trying to keep face despite the tears gathering in his eyes.

Tai Lung paid no mind to the tears. "But you've been grieving the death of the same friend for two years!" he cried angrily. "And you refuse to tell me what happened those two years ago!"

"Maybe it's because it hurts to think about it!" replied the kitsune, getting progressively more peeved by the second.

"And you don't think it hurts me to talk about what happened in Chohr Gom?" the snow leopard asked, nostrils flaring. "Whenever I even think about Chohr Gom, the sting of what they did to me makes my fur stand on end! And don't even begin to ask me about how much I think about everybody's rejection of me! You think your pain is bad? You're not the only one!"

Finally, Miles had enough. Shutting his eyes and clenching his fists, he leaned forward.

"I _raped _and _killed _that friend of mine that died two years ago, all right?" bellowed the kitsune. "And I didn't even want to do any of what I did to him! I wasn't strong enough to fight the person who made me do it! I raped and killed my friend, Tai Lung! And it's _all. My. Fault_!"

The kitsune lost his composure immediately after screaming, and then he crumpled on the ground, sobbing his heart out as he moaned sadly.

Tai Lung was shell-shocked beyond belief. He simply stared at Miles, eyes wide as he looked down at the sobbing kitsune. The very person that had saved his life had engaged in such awful behavior? And against his will, no less. A swirl of questions surrounded Tai Lung's mind.

A feeling of pity overtook Tai Lung upon hearing this. That could not have been Miles' fault if he had not wanted to kill his friend. Thinking of this, the snow leopard knelt down to the kitsune, all of his anger having evaporated and his golden eyes shining in sympathy.

"Hey," said Tai Lung. "It's not--"

"You know what?" asked Miles, standing up, frowning despite his tears. "Just go!"

This threw the cat off greatly, his ears flattening against his head. "What?" he asked. "Why should I do that?"

"Because I'm a monster, and now you know why," replied Miles.

"But Miles... I!"

At this, the kitsune reached into his pack and pulled out the carving knife and held it in front of him. "Go!" he replied. "Or my blood'll be on your conscience!"

"But--!"

"Get the fuck away from me!" cried Miles shrilly. "Or I'll kill myself!"

The snow leopard very quickly dove in, his hand coming to rest on the hand that held the kitsune's knife. However, he found that Miles' grip on the weapon was hard then anticipated, and so the two of them struggled with the blade to the point that both of them lost their grip on the weapon. It then hovered in the air very briefly before landing blade first. The fact that the blade had sunk into Tai Lung's foot did not help matters at all.

The snow leopard yelped in pain as he looked at the blade embedded in his foot. Miles simply looked at the blade, paralyzed from shock. The cat looked to the kitsune, noticing this.

"Miles--"

"Damn it!" cried the kitsune, thrashing around and nearly pulling his fur out. "It's happening again! I only hurt the ones that care about me!"

Tai Lung shook his head. "Damn it Miles, if you had not threatened to kill yourself, this wouldn't have--!"

He was interruped by a roll of bandages hitting him square in the eye. "I'm a monster, damn it!"

Before Tai Lung knew what had hit him, he suddenly noticed Miles take off at superspeed into the fog.

"Miles, wait!" bellowed Tai Lung, taking a step forward with the foot that did not have a blade embedded in it and holding his hand out to the rapidly disappearing kitsune.

But alas, his hand only lingered there, the silence overtaking the Devil's Mouth once again.

Punching the air in front of him, Tai Lung looked at the roll of bandages that Miles had left, and then again at the knife.

"At least he doesn't have anything to kill himself with," he said sadly, shaking his head.

He sat down abruptly and quickly pulled the blade out of his foot. Wincing with the pain that followed, Tai Lung proceeded to wrap a bandage around the injured foot, stemming the bleeding raher quickly.

"I need to go find him," he said as he stood up, testing the bandage on his foot and finding that it did help the pain a little. "And I really don't care if he's with the Furious Five when I do find him. I hope you're all right, Miles..."

Deciding to leave the carving knife where it laid so that Miles could not swipe it from him in the future, the leopard lumbered forward, beginning his search for Miles.

* * *

It was quite a bit later when Tai Lung realized that he still kept up a partial limp when it came to his foot. This could not be good; he had only traversed half the distance he had assumed Miles had taken, and he had still not found the kitsune. From the way the light seeped through the mist, he was able to tell that it was late afternoon as well. His mind asked the question of how Miles had been able to run so fast repeatedly, and he always answered himself with 'the same reason he can fly'. He wondered briefly if his friend had gotten over himself and was coming back for him. Tai Lung sincerely hoped this was the case, as his patience was beginning to wear thin.

Something caught his attention from his peripheral vision. Looking to the side, he thought he saw a glance of a bird flying away with a strange girl in tow. Blinking and finding the image disappear ever so quickly, the cat was surprised. The vision he had seen was definitely not of Miles. Shaking his head, he thought to continue.

But then, he looked to the side and suddenly noticed the presence of the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior.

He found Tigress' gaze fall on him.

Tai Lung then jumped back quickly, getting into a fighting stance as Master Monkey jumped out from the fog and slammed a hand on the ground, Po and the rest of the Furious Five jumping into their fighting stances.

Grinning, Tigress was the first to speak. "I knew you'd get into the forest," she said. "It would be good to lose us in."

"But how did any of you get--?" asked Tai Lung.

"Crane," replied Po and the Five minus the avian master all at the same time.

"Yeah, it's not a bad idea to have a bird be part of your fighting clan," replied Po. "I see you don't have your little friend here. Too bad you don't have your bargaining chip anymore."

Eyes widening at this, Tai Lung's fur suddenly stood on end as his eyes widened.

"B-bargaining chip?" he spat out in shock.

"Yeah," replied Tigress, fingers curling a little.

Tai Lung shook his head. "Lady, if I was using him as a hostage, I would've used him to get out of our first fight before it even began," replied the cat matter-of-factly. "I'm not that much of a coward. Besides, he saved my life. I wouldn't even think of doing something like that to a friend."

"Then if he's a friend, where is he?" asked Mantis quickly.

Tai Lung growled in response, shifting on his bandaged foot as he braced himself for battle. "Good question," said the snow leopard, his voice somehow menacing and somber at the same time. "I don't know where he is either. And before you ask, no I'm not making it up."

The Furious Five did not let up their fighting stance. "We'll worry about whether you're telling the truth or not later," stated Po matter-of-factly. "For now, let's fight!"

And the panda jumped towards Tai Lung, the cat jumping back to avoid the paw strike.

Tai Lung bit the inside of his mouth when a pain shot up in the foot that the knife had stabbed. He did not flinch, however, for then he leapt above Po, aiming a kick at Monkey as he had leapt at Tai Lung quickly.

The snow leopard then jumped up just as Master Viper had lashed her tail out at the predatory cat. He noticed Tigress approaching from his peripheral vision, and then he punched her out of the way at the right time.

Unfortunately, he was still in the air as he did this, and so Crane had happened to grab the bandaged foot. Biting his lip so as not to howl in pain, Tai Lung took a hold of a tree branch, which conveniently allowed him to swing full force into Monkey, knocking him back quite a distance right into where Mantis and Viper were.

Landing on his feet again, the predatory cat turned around quickly to see Po right behind him. Quickly kicking the Dragon Warrior with his non-injured foot, the snow leopard used this as a sort of springboard to make some distance between them. He did not expect to bump into Tigress in midair, but when they both crashed into a tree the leader of the Furious Five took a greater blow.

By this time, however, Po was leaping towards Tai Lung, and seeing this the criminal jumped out of the way quickly. The force of the fat panda colliding into the tree caused it to fall over with a loud crack.

Tai Lung had no time to concentrate on this, for then he noticed Mantis leaping at him, legs out. Tai Lung blocked the kick with his fist, proceeding to follow that up with a palm strike that sent the mantis flying back.

However, he had not expected Viper to curl around his leg. When she did, it was only too late that he realized that she was curled around both his neck and his fist. The cat proceeded to hit himself in the face with his own fist.

Noticing something in his peripheral vision, however, he then jumped up, kicking Monkey's hand away as he ended up fending off Monkey's assault with one hand and his non-injured foot. The snow leopard seemed to be doing fine just by this.

Unfortunately, this had given Mantis a brief opportunity to grab the leopard's foot. However, noticing the bandage there, the fighter thought better of what he was originally planning to do and instead delivered a swift kick to Tai Lung's heel. This sent the cat falling down so that he was then pinned by Monkey and Viper. Crane and Po soon joined their comerades in keeping the leopard pinned down. Looking up, the panda looked at Tigress.

"Tigress! The rope!"

Nodding swiftly, the leader of the Furious Five produced a rather large rope. The remaining Five and Po then threw Tai Lung up in a twirling motion, in which Tigress jumped in and quickly wove the rope around the cat while he was still disoriented. This was finished with a kick to a nearby tree from the Dragon Warrior, and then the female cat jumped in and finished tying all of the knots she had tied in the rope.

When she was done, there was a rather long length of thick rope around Tai Lung's torso that was tied so tightly that the cat could do nothing despite his struggles. The rope bound him from just below his hips to all the way up to his shoulders, with a smaller rope keeping his wrists bound behind him. Looking at himself, Tai Lung simply growled.

"Now, you were--?" asked Tigress.

"Wait, wait," replied Mantis, getting onto the cat and pointing to the bandage on the leopard's left foot with an outstretched pincer. "He fought us on an injured foot. That bandage really needs to be changed."

Suddenly, Po and the rest of the five looked down at the foot, and suddenly realized that the insect was right. Viper leaned towards the bandage before turning to Tai Lung.

"How did you get that wound?" asked the snake suddenly.

Tai Lung sighed. "Miles hates himself," he began. "We got into a huge argument this morning about who had done worst stuff. Very long story short, he pulled his knife on himself, and in the tussle that resulted from me trying to get it out of his grip... well, it landed in my foot. After that, he just ran off."

"You do realize that's a very hard story to believe, yes?" asked Tigress, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Maybe," replied the snow leopard. "I suppose this... friend that showed up at the Jade Palace said nothing about what he did two years ago?"

Po crossed his own arms in front of him. "She mentioned something about that, yeah," replied the Dragon Warrior. "But she didn't go into details."

Glancing around warily, the snow leopard nodded. "It's probably better that she didn't, then," he said. "I'll let him explain if he ever gets the chance to run into you guys. I can't put into words how terrible it must be for him to cope with what happened..."

The snow leopard's subsequent frown seemed to put people off. However, when the group that had captured him noticed the piteous look in his eyes, they all knew that there was no way the snow leopard had been lying to them.

"I see..." said Po, arms dropping to the side. "Yeah. While we figure that out, though, we're going to have to take you to Beijing."

Upon hearing this, Tai Lung's eyes took on a look of pure terror. "B... Beijing?" he asked.

"Emperor's orders," replied Monkey simply.

"B... but he'll kill me!" exclaimed the snow leopard.

"I know," replied the avian kung fu master, rolling his eyes at this.

"No!" replied Tai Lung, suddenly getting quite high-strung at this. "That can't be!"

Po nodded, emerald eyes glinting in sadness. "I wish there was somethin' we could've done different, buddy," stated the panda. "But it's the emperor's orders."

The bound criminal was shocked beyond belief at this revelation, so much that he barely noticed when Mantis had changed the bandage on his foot in a flash.

"Come on," said Tigress as she helped Tai Lung to his feet, gripping his bound arm. "We've got a long way to go to get to Beijing.

And with this, the Furious Five and Po walked along with the predatory cat as their prisoner, disappearing into the mist slowly.

Almost as soon as they had disappeared into the mist, Miles came out from his hiding spot in a ditch in the ground, looking on after where the silhouettes of the party of seven disappeared in the mist. His sapphire eyes were awash in new tears that were threatening to spill out.

As soon as he saw this, he fell back against the tree, not even bothering to cover his eyes to cry.

He had seen the entire fight. He had heard all of what the Furious Five had to say. And he had heard Tai Lung talking about him.

And Miles wished more than ever that he had remembered where their fight was.

He hated himself. He was the reason Sonic had died. He was the reason Cream had gone through so much trouble. And he was the reason that Tai Lung was going to die. If only he had stayed with the snow leopard. If only he had never run away. If only he had never killed Sonic. If only he had never even existed at all.

He was so pathetic he could not even put the effort into improvising a way to kill himself.

And so, he wept profusely the entire rest of the day, only quieting when the mist around him became dark to the point that the world was black as night. By that time, he had no more tears to cry, and so he simply slumped up against the tree he had been leaning against and fell asleep slowly.

* * *

_Miles was greatly purturbed when he had finally sobbed himself to sleep successfully. He had been expecting the dream he usually had._

_Instead, he found himself standing by a peach tree that stood by a cliff, light fuchsia petals falling from the tree as he looked around him. Turning around, he noticed the incredible view of a beautiful valley from where he stood. The moon was out, and the moonlight bathed the scene in an ethereal blueish light._

_It was a wondrous scene to behold, but it left the kitsune highly confused._

_His confusion was quickly whisked away, however, for then he suddenly noticed a small contingent of roseate petals descending from the heavens, almost as if it was heralding the arrival of someone. Confused, Miles' aquamarine eyes looked up as he brushed a strand of fur away from his face._

_The petals descended to where the kitsune stood, and suddenly, from the petals materialized an old tortoise who looked upon Miles with gentle eyes and a toothless smile that was fatherly rather than outright disturbing._

_"Who... who're you?" asked Miles, a little confused. "What're you doing in my dream?"_

_The tortoise looked at the kitsune intently. "I am here because there is great torment in your heart," began the tortoise slowly, voice sounding as ancient as the wrinkles on his neck. "I am Master Oogway..."_

_"Master Oogway?" asked the fox uncertainly. "You mean, the founder of kung fu?"_

_"Tai Lung has said quite a lot, I must say," Oogway continued._

_The kitsune's hair stood on end as he heard this. "What do you mean, Tai Lung?" he asked. "How'd you know I was with him?"_

_"I am a spirit, my lad," replied Oogway. "The spirits see many things, both good and bad. I think you made the right decision by staying with Tai Lung."_

_"Why, though?" asked Miles, throwing his arms out as he began to pace around the cliff face with tears coming to his eyes. "We didn't get along! And I forced him to leave! And now the Furious Five have him, and he's gonna die! And it's all my fault!"_

_The kitsune sat down by the edge of the cliff, shaking his head before continuing. "It's just not fair," he said. "Everybody that's ever become my best friend has had something horrible happen to him. It's all my fault that Tai Lung is gonna die... And it's my fault my big brother died two years ago... I'm just an accident..."_

_Oogway simply gazed down at the young child as he sat at the edge of the cliff. The tortoise then came forward, standing right beside Miles and patting his shoulder comfortingly._

_"There are no accidents," he said. "And even if there are accidents, you are certainly not an accident. It is thanks to you that Tai Lung finally has a visible path to redemption."_

_"Yeah, redemption that nobody will see..." said the kitsune under his breath as he shook his head. "He's gonna die, damn it!"_

_"It will happen only if you let it," replied Oogway, his hands gesturing out to the stars as they twinkled brightly in the night sky. "Look at the moon, Miles. What do you see?"_

_The kitsune's mind was screaming at him not to look, but despite himself he rose his head, looking at the round orb that penetrated the sky. "I see something round... something bright, but sad at the same time... Like it's crying for someone that isn't there..."_

_Oogway nodded, seeing the fox was getting his point. "Precisely," it said. "The moon, it could be said, is our slave. Forced to shine for all eternity, it only shines in melancholy, for it would do nothing to lift itself up but hate itself." The kung fu master faced Miles, that gentle smile still resting on toothless lips. "The sun, is different. It was forced to shine and revolve around us, too. However, the sun took pride in this; instead of submitting willfully, the sun shines in full radiance to defy the earth. And in doing so, it brings us all the light of happiness. It is all how you look at it, whether to sit in submission like the moon, or to defy the odds like the sun. You can still save Tai Lung; you just need to find the will to do so and it will happen."_

_Miles was silent for a few seconds, looking out at the moon as he thought of this. After a brief pause, however, he shook his head violently as he stood up._

_"Yeah, I can save him," said the kitsune as he walked to the peach tree. "But why me?"_

_"Because you are the only one who understands him," replied the tortoise as he turned to face the younger fox._

_"Yeah, that's true, but he doesn't understand me!" cried Miles as a new batch of tears came to his eyes. "I was mind controlled and I raped and killed my older brother, damn it! I haven't even seen my close friends for two years because they'll never forgive me! I'm unforgiveable! I can't even save myself! What makes you think I can save him?"_

_Oogway shook his head, his smile disappearing._

_"You are being too harsh on yourself," he said gently. "There is always a path to forgiveness; you just have to find it. And to do it, you must let go of the past and look to the future."_

_"But I did unspeakable crap!" replied the kitsune disbelievingly. "I'm sure my friends never forgave me for what happened! Hell, Sonic... If you're here, he probably hates me right now... If only I had been stronger... None of this would've happened... I can't be saved... I can't..."_

_Oogway looked up into the sky, and then he noticed a similar set of petals that had heralded his own entrance going down to earth. Miles noticed this too, and looked up, wiping a tear from his eye as he did._

_When the petals touched the ground, Miles was utterly shocked to see the apparition of Sonic the Hedgehog standing before him with a bandage wrapped around the katana wound that Miles had caused two years prior._

_"S... Sonic..." said the kitsune, casting his gaze down at the earth as he realized what this meant._

_"Tails..." said the sapphire hedgehog as he came closer. "Why...?"_

_"Why do you think?" replied Miles. "I was under mind control."_

_"That wasn't what I was gonna ask, you know," replied Sonic crossly as he crossed his arms in front of him. "Why did you leave? Why did you miss out on my funeral? Why did you stay away for so long?"_

_The kitsune shook his head, yet more tears flowing down his cheeks. "I..." he said. "I couldn't bear to look at any of you... Not with what I did... It's unforgiveable... You of all people should know that!" He turned around, not wanting to face the hedgehog he had killed with his own two hands. "I'm a monster, Sonic. I'm hopeless."_

_The hedgehog was not to be deterred. Shaking his head, he walked up to Miles and surprised him greatly when he wrapped his arm's around the fox, his chin resting on the kitsune's head._

_"Tails," he said. "It wasn't your fault that you were the one who was put under that. It wasn't your fault you were given the command. None of it was your fault."_

_Miles shook his head defiantly. "But I'm still the one who killed you, and I'm still the one who wasn't strong enough to resist it!" he shouted back. "I don't care if it could have happened to anybody else, Sonic. Why did it have to happen to me?"_

_Sonic shook his head tentatively, holding Miles tighter to him. "That doesn't matter," he said. "You did nothing wrong when you killed me. I forgave you a long time ago, Miles."_

_The kitsune stiffened at this. The proclamation of forgiveness was surreal enough, but Sonic never used his given name with him unless he was being completely serious. This shock dried his eyes as he broke out of Sonic's hold to look at him._

_"What?" asked the kitsune. "But... but how... why...? I don't..."_

_"Because I love you, bro," said the hedgehog solemnly as he released Miles and turned him around. "Always have. Always will. And I'm not gonna let some mind-controlled murder get in the way of that."_

_As the bewildered kitsune stood in shock at what he just heard, Sonic continued. "You're my brother, Miles," he said softly. "I would've done anything for you. And I would've supported you all the way. Hell, if you had followed Eggman's shoes, I'd still love you. I'd be really mad, but I'd still love you. Miles... You're everything to me. Stop blaming yourself for what happened. Please. It's tearing my heart apart to see you hating yourself so much. It hurts because I love you so much... Please... It's not your fault. It never was. And if you think otherwise, then you're wrong..."_

_Miles was simply shocked at this revelation. Somehow, the revelation that Sonic did not in fact hate him lifted a great weight from his conscience. However, there was still another, greater weight being left in its place._

_"But..." replied Miles. "You would've forgiven me... But our friends, Sonic! Think about them! They wouldn't have been so forgiving... would they?"_

_Sonic shook his head at this question. "Your friends forgave you too," he said simply. "You should have seen Amy when she found out you had run away. I'd say my death wasn't as bad as you leaving her behind... And Cream... Cream followed you all the way to China to bring you back. By now most people would have gone nuts. She's still holding on to the hope that you're alive, and that you're safe, and that's enough for her to carry on. Tails... You're not above being saved. The only person who needs to forgive you is you..." The hedgehog knelt in front of his younger brother, the melancholy apparent in his emerald eyes as he looked at the kitsune. "Tails..."_

_The kitsune was shocked beyond words at this that he was rooted to the spot for a good bunch of seconds._

_Something in his mind shifted, and all of a sudden, the guilt came crashing down into a pile of rubble that could never be reconstructed again. All of the guilt was finally released, and it left Miles even more shocked._

_And before even Master Oogway could say anything, the kitsune let out a small whimper. That was all the warning Sonic got before he was tackled to the ground by the kitsune, Miles weeping profusely into the bandages in the hedgehog's chest as he cried the remains of his guilt away. Sonic simply patted the kitsune's back, smiling sadly as a solitary tear went down his own tan muzzle._

_When the fox found his eyes run dry, he finally let go of Sonic and knelt up, his eyes still sad._

_"Damn it," Miles said, softly. "I... I can't believe myself... I can't believe I ran away from everything!"_

_"In some ways, it is good," replied Oogway, coming forward. "It is good because you can help fulfill Tai Lung's destiny. No one is above redemption, no matter how far they fall. Tai Lung needs you, Miles Prower. He needs you now, more than he has ever needed a friend before."_

_The kitsune nodded, wiping the residue the tears had left on his fur as he nodded to Sonic and then to Oogway._

_"I know," he said. "And I'm not gonna fail him. I can't fail him. Especially not after this."_

_Sonic placed a hand on Miles' shoulder, a smile on his face. "Go get 'em, tiger," he said encouragingly. "And make sure they know who you are!"_

_Miles nodded, smiling for the first time in two years. Sonic turned to Master Oogway, nodding as he looked over. "Ready to go home?" he asked._

_"Our work here is done," said Oogway. "We might as well."_

_The hedgehog nodded, and turning to Miles he gave the kitsune a final hug. Miles returned the hug with all he had, such that when Sonic had let him go the kitsune was still clinging to Sonic._

_"Goodbye, Sonic," he muttered. "I love you too..."_

_Sonic smiled as his brother finally released him from his hold. Turning to Oogway, the two of them walked towards the edge of the cliff._

_And then, a contingent of rose petals began flowing under their feet, and suddenly the petals seemed to lift Sonic and Oogway off the ground, Sonic seeming to break into a run as he was levitated in the air. It was at this point that a thought suddenly occurred to Miles. Rushing to the cliff face, he looked up to the two ascending spirits._

_"Master Oogway!" he cried. "Hold up a second!"_

_The petals holding the tortoise stopped for a brief second, the spirit of the kung fu master looking down at the kitsune. "What is it?" he asked._

_"I wanted to ask you something!" cried Miles. "What was the darkness in Tai Lung's heart?"_

_Oogway paused before speaking. "He is very much his father's son, both adoptive and biological" he replied, voice ringing out over the valley. "I would tell you more, but the spirits forbid such behavior!"_

_"So it's got something to do with who his real father is?" asked Miles._

_"Yes!" replied Oogway._

_"Okay, thank you!" shouted the kitsune._

_Oogway seemed to nod, and then Sonic and Oogway both ascended higher, the peach petals eventually becoming just a speck within the vast expanse of the night sky. Miles looked on, a smile on his face as his gaze lingered on where the petals had disappeared long after they had done so._

* * *

When Miles woke up, the fog was white.

The kitsune woke up slowly, looking ahead of him as he rubbed his eyes.

It was then that the dream from the night before came back, and with it the recollection of the events of the day before. Jumping up in shock, the kitsune pulled on his bugundy vest as he looked to where the Five had gone with Tai Lung the night before.

Frowning and clenching his fist, the kitsune decided something had to be done about it.

"Don't worry, Tai Lung," he said, his voice full of renewed hope as a determined look overtook his azure eyes. "I'm coming for you."

And with this, Miles set off in the direction that he had seen Tai Lung get dragged to, a plan forming in his mind as he traversed the forest.


	13. Cream: Chapter 6

And thus ends the reign of emo Tails. How does he plan on saving Tai Lung?

Let's put that aside for now, and instead go into details about where Cream got taken...

* * *

Cream: Chapter 6

Cream woke up from her shock in a dark, dirty room.

She had fallen asleep sometime during the morning after she was kidnapped, and she felt very out of the loop when she opened her eyes. When she finally had woken up, she felt that something different was wrapped around her body. Looking down at herself in what little light there was, she noticed that she no longer had her old clothes on. The rabbit could not help but feel uncomfortable in her new garb, and looking down she saw that it was now a dress instead of the pants and shirt she had been wearing. The clothes seemed to fit tight on her,and suddenly she could not help but feel that she was in the same place Tooty supposedly had been in.

Gasping in fright, the rabbit hoped that Shifu would arrive soon.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in strode someone. She was unable to make out who it was, but his hard yellow eyes stared down at her threateningly. The effect of this was enough to send goosebumps flying all over Cream's skin from the fright.

"Good, you're awake," began the figure grandly.

"Who... who're you?" asked Cream. "What do you want from me?"

"So you don't know who I am," he replied. Upon the shaky nod from the rabbit, the strang man continued. "I suppose it can't be helped. I am Tan Tao, and I am going to be your lord and master from now on."

At this, the rabbit's form tensed, unsure what to make of this new information. Slowly, she shifted her place on the hard bed she only just realized was there. "W... what do you mean?" she asked tepidly.

"That means that you are to do my bidding," replied Tan Tao softly. "And my bidding is that you go out to the streets and sell your body."

The rabbit jolted up, a strange mix of shock and anger taking over her being. "W-what?" she stuttered, going up against the headboard of her bed. "Why?"

"Let's just say that I have taken a special interest in you," the figure said menacingly.

This reply only confused the rabbit more. "But... but we've never even met!" she said.

"Oh, we have," replied Tan Tao sneakily. "You just haven't realized it yet. But that is not important anyways, for you will still be serving me regardless of whether you want to or not."

"No!" protested Cream almost instantly. "I refuse! I'm not going to sell my body for people I barely know! Who do you think you are?"

"Bad decision," Tan Tao said slyly. "For you see, I have ways of making you work for me." Here, Cream heard the thud of fabric falling to the floor. "And I don't want to have to resort to the extreme I am afraid I will have to to get my point across."

Cream shook in fright as she heard the footsteps come closer to her. In the dim lighting of the room she was able to make out the shape of a nude figure, her eyes widening in fright when she looked below. Seeing what she saw was enough to scare her away from her position of strength.

"Okay, okay, I'll work for you!" replied Cream suddenly, covering her face in shame. "Just... don't rape me! Please!"

The figure smiled, white teeth glinting in the light as the figure walked away from the bed. "Good," he said as the sound of fabric being slipped back onto a person accompanied this word. "You will start tomorrow. Until then, you may roam the grounds as you wish. And if you even think about escape, my guards will haul you back here where you belong and I _will_ rape you. Understood?"

The rabbit nodded, frightened beyond belief. She was so frightened the only indication she got that Tan Tao had left was that the door to the room she was in had closed.

She laid there, curled up in the bed in a frightened ball for a good ten minutes. Tooty came into Cream's mind, and how broken she was when a Tan Tao had taken her away to be raped again and again for a year. Cream knew this had to be the same Tan Tao that had kidnapped Banjo's sister twelve years prior. It simply had to be.

But perhaps what was more chilling to Cream was the prospect laid out in front of her; sell her body, or be raped. Neither choice was good, and the worst part was she had not even found Tails yet. She was going to become a prostitute for Lord knew how long, and the worst part was that Tails had not even been found by herself or Shifu or even Po and the Furious Five yet.

As she thought this, tears came to her eyes, and she shook her head, praying for a miracle as she cried into the incredibly hard pillow that was in the room for a minute or two.

* * *

When Cream had finally plucked up the courage to leave her room, she found the hallway to be dimly lit. Thankfully, the sun was out, so the light leaked through a few windows. From all around her, the sounds of men moaning and groaning in ecstasy were heard, along with a few grunts of pain from women.

The symphony of sexuality sickened Cream, and when she found the way to the staircase she was all too glad to close the door and deal with a muted version of the sounds. Slowly shaking her head, she wandered up the stairs aimlessly, shocked at what she just beheld.

She had wound up in a brothel. The grim reality of her situation had just begun to dawn on her then. She truly was alone, with nobody to look after her. She was all on her own.

The rabbit shook her head, a frown setting on her face as her foot platted on the top of the stairwell. She had to be strong. Resolute. Even in the face of the worst degradation she had known, she had to remain strong. Even if she had to sell her body, she would not let it break her. She could not let it break her; her dignity was the only thing she had left.

Thinking this, she absent-mindedly opened the door to enter upon a grand room. The sun blazed inside, the room, setting everything ablaze. It was a very simple room by composition, but the room was very well-lit, thus bringing out all of the color to be found in the room. There was a rather modest bed sitting by one of the walls with many windows; however, something about how the bed was carved was as grandiose as the colored bottles that were left lying around in tables. It was a stark contrast to Cream's own room with only a candle to light it; the sight nearly blinded Cream before she came to her senses.

Cream quickly deduced that this must have been Tan Tao's quarters. Her mind was screaming at her to get out of the room, but curiosity held her in place, and she stood in the open doorway for quite some time.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of her. She edged into the room, closing the door ever so softly behind her as she looked around the room, stepping softly on the glossy wood of the room so as not to disturb anything.

As she moved about the room, she noticed the bottles in greater detail. They looked like they held liquids of varying degrees of color, with purples and reds and yellows adorning the sides. Curiously, the rabbit moved to one of the tables full of bottles, and looking at one sniffed slightly.

The bottles were perfume. And make-up.

And the fragrance compromised a strange beauty.

Looking to the side, she suddenly noticed a vase that held a bunch of lotus blossoms sitting on the windowsill, pink petals brightening up the room as the green leaves provided great counterpoint. Awed by this sight, the rabbit walked over and pulled the vase to her, holding it in her two hands as she looked down at the flowers. They were the most beautiful thing in the room, even when Cream looked around and noticed all of the ornate decorations that littered the place.

It was while she was looking at the lotus blossoms that she caught a sight of her dress. Putting the vase back on the sill, she looked down to find herself dressed in an orange gown of silk complexion. It was tight around her, highlighting her curves shamelessly as she saw the intricate weavings of blossoms on her dress.

Pity that such beauty was to be found on the face of a prostitute.

Cream shook this thought away from her quickly, looking over the room quickly. She walked over to another corner where she saw her face in a small mirror. She held it up and looked at herself, noticing for the first time how truly grown up she was.

Turning fifteen had been quiet; she was at an inn, and nothing had truly happened as she was alone. However, time had caught up with her, and the reality of her age hit her hard.

At least she did not have to deal with the realities of sexuality at ten like Tooty had to. Cream was thankful for that.

The sound of the door opening from behind caught the rabbit off guard. Eyes going wide in shock, Cream turned around quickly, half expecting to see the face of Tan Tao glaring at her in the sun.

Instead, she saw a rather tall looking woman, fur grey with a few black spots here and there. Her shade of yellow was not the menacing kind of yellow that she had seen in the master of the brothel, but rather a kind, understanding yellow that reached into minds and pulled wisdom in. Her face was also kind, a wrinkle or two setting on on an otherwise beautiful visage that was complimented by the wonderful makup Cream had already seen.

Looking at the woman and coming to her senses after a few seconds, the rabbit yelped, slamming the mirror onto the table, some of the make-up bottles jumping up from the force.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed the rabbit, trying to make her way to the door. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't be--!"

"Nonsense," the woman interrupted, voice soft with understanding as she put a hand on Cream's shoulder and stopped her. "Many new girls come in here unsuspectingly. I do not mind."

"But the master will not be pleased by this!" said the rabbit, fear eminent in her eyes.

The old woman chuckled, her pointed ears suddenly visible. "Relax," she replied. "This is not Tan Tao's room. It is mine."

Cream shook her head at this. "But I'm still intruding into your space, miss," replied Cream. "I shouldn't be here."

"Oh, nonsense!" chuckled the cat, taking Cream's wrist and leading her to the bed. "Many of the girls come in here to talk with me when they first come here. Tell me, my dear; what is your name?"

The rabbit looked up nervously, her eyes shifting around quickly as her nerves gathered up in her head.

"I... I'm Cream, madam," she said nervously. "And you are...?"

"Tai Xue at your service, dear," replied the cat softly as she sat in the bed. Upon doing so, the rabbit noticed the feline's paws patting the space next to her. "Come. Sit down next to me."

Cream gulped nervously, but did as she was told. She then looked up at the snow leopard, wondering briefly what the other person was looking at.

"You certainly do not look like you are from here," began Tai Xue gracefully. "Where might you be from?"

The rabbit shook her head, chuckling softly. "I'm not from anywhere in China," she replied. "I've travelled the world for two years searching for a friend."

"Two years?" asked the elder woman, surprise taking over her features. "That is certainly a long time to be away from any kind of home..."

Another thought seemed to occur to the cat, and suddenly her eyes took on an expression of shock. "You were not kidnapped, were you?"

"I was," replied Cream. "I had taken up residence at the Jade Palace before... some guy kidnapped me. I don't really care about the details. I just want to see my friend's face again... even if I have to force my face into him."

"If he is the kind of man I would expect many men to be, then you should find him soon," replied Tai Xue.

"He's probably too emotional to be like that, though," replied the rabbit, finding that her nerves were leaving her slowly. "But enough about me. What about you? And why are you here in this... this lovely room."

"I am Tan Tao's favorite," replied the snow leopard, a tinge of bitterness in her voice. "I always have been for the thirty-seven years I've been here."

Cream's eyes went incredibly wide at this. "Thirty-seven years?" she asked, shocked. "I can expect to stay here that long?"

Tai Xue shook her head. "No," she replied. "He usually throws you out once you become ugly. I am the sole exception to that rule; he has always liked me more than all of the other concubines that have come and gone. It is the reason I have these quarters here."

The rabbit cocked her eyebrow, confused. "Then if these are your quarters, where does Tan Tao sleep?" she asked innocently.

Tai Xue then pointed to a grand structure well beyond the window that the rabbit just noticed was there. "He has quarters in the royal villa," she replied. "He is quite crafty like this."

Cream was confused by this, but decided not to pursue that line of thought any further as she knew she would only be more confused if she asked. "And... you've seen many concubines come and go from this place?" she asked.

"Many, many of them," replied Tai Xue. "Some stick out more than others, however. There was a bear that first came here around twelve years ago against her will. I remember when she first got here she was sobbing because she was afraid she was never going to see her big brother again. I forget her name, however..."

"Tooty..." muttered the rabbit, bringing a hand to her mouth so that her fingers barely treaded her lower lip.

"You know her," said the cat, instantly connecting dots in her head.

"Yeah," said Cream. "She did find her older brother around the same time I started my journey for my friend..."

The snow leopardess nodded as she looked down to her companion. "I am at least glad she has found her peace again," Tai Xue said softly. "I pitied that poor bear."

"Yeah, Tooty's a nice girl," replied the rabbit.

"You seem like a nice girl as well," continued Tai Xue, gesturing towards Cream. "I do hope your innocence will outlast what Tan Tao can do to you if you don't obey his will..."

Cream nodded, remembering the rape threat from when she had woken up. "I hope I don't have to sell my body to anyone."

"If you want to avoid the wrath of Tan Tao, you will have to do that eventually," said the snow leopardess softly with a slight deal of apprehension in her voice. "He will rape you if you don't sell yourself early on."

The rabbit looked down, feeling her heart sink as the grim reality of her situation settled on her yet again. "But I'm not sure I'm ready to..." replied the rabbit morosely. "I mean..."

Tai Xue put a comforting hand on Cream's shoulder, smiling at her. "If you have any concerns, you are always welcome in this room," replied the older woman maternally. "I can talk to you where many other people cannot."

Cream felt the hand massage her shoulder, and then another thing dawned on her.

She had an ally in an unlikely place. This meant that she at least had someone to share her troubles with.

Feeling better about this fact, the rabbit nodded, smiling softly.

"Okay," she said.

And then her stomach growled so loudly it embarrased the poor rabbit. In reply, the snow leopardess laughed good naturedly.

"Come," she said, getting off of the bed and walking towards the door. "We should get something to eat."

The rabbit grinned sheepishly as she was lightly pulled off of the bed. Being steered towards the door by the matronly Tai Xue, she then traversed the stairs. As she did, she that even if she had to resort to extremes to keep herself safe, she had someone to talk about it with.

That, and the fact that she still had to look for Tails, was enough to give her the courage to face what was inevitable.


	14. Tai Lung: Chapter 7

Okay, so last time we found out why Cream was kidnapped. Will this have any bearing on plot? Yes, it shall. How? We shall see soon enough, my friends.

For now, though, let's cut back to Tai Lung and see how he's holding up...

* * *

Tai Lung: Chapter 7

Nothing had gone according to what he had hoped at all.

Tai Lung was being led forward by Po, who despite being the Dragon Warrior was not at all as aggressive as the snow leopard thought the panda would have been. However, it was the glares he recieved from the rest of the Five that were destroying him a little inside. Thankfully they rarely looked at him as they trudged along, but when they did he felt the fury of a thousand suns descending on his figure.

The looks were the least of Tai Lung's problems, however; foremost on his mind was that he was going to die. Shifu had undoubtedly stayed at the Jade Palace, so he was even denied an opportunity to apologize to his father.

Miles had opened a window for the snow leopard; the fox had gotten Tai Lung to see that there was more to the world than just fighting and being the Dragon Warrior. He also seemed to realize that Shifu could not have been very proud of him when he rampaged twenty-one years before. The kitsune had opened Tai Lung's eyes to reality.

It was too bad that Miles had disappeared from his life forever.

The only thing that made it worse was that none of the Five seemed willing to listen to the snow leopard. The journey was rather silent anyway, but this realization was like a knife being slowly inserted into his heart. It hurt so much that he was unable to vent his sadness anywhere that he was crumbling under the pressure such that even his pride was beginning to falter.

He was nestled out of his thoughts abruptly when he noticed that Po and the Five had paused, looking around in the fog. Tigress' eyes pierced the fog as she looked skyward. As soon as Tai Lung saw this, he noticed that the fog had gotten a little darker than before.

"We should stop here," said the leader of the Furious Five.

"Okay, good," said Po as he let Tai Lung down and tied a smaller length of rope to a tree. "I was gettin' tired of walkin' all this way."

"Leave it to the fat panda to say something like that," quipped Tai Lung, unable to control the acid in his voice.

"Now, now," said Viper with some kind of understanding. "There is no need to insult another person about that."

"Viper's right," replied Tigress. "But we'll talk about that later. Mantis, Crane. I want to talk with you two."

"On it!" cried the insect as both insect and bird followed the kung fu master into the forest.

This left Po, Viper, Monkey, and Tai Lung sitting in the clearing. Even then, however, Monkey wordlessly lumbered off to look for wood to fuel the fire for the night, which left Viper and Po sitting there with the once mighty snow leopard.

Wordlessly, Tai Lung's yellow eyes averted to the ground, closing them as he thought of his piteous state.

"You know, you haven't been lookin' all that good lately."

Po's voice interrupted the snow leopard's thoughts. "What the hell do you want?" asked Tai Lung bitterly.

"Well, I'm just thinkin' here," replied the panda as he began gesturing wildly with his hands. "Ever since we've caught you, you haven't been lookin' all that good. And I've got the feelin' it goes deeper than your pride."

The snow leopard sighed, shaking his head and looking to the side. "You wouldn't care," he said in a sorry attempt to be crass.

"It's your friend, isn't it?" asked Viper suddenly.

Unable to deny the Five his true feelings anymore, Tai Lung nodded. "He hates himself," replied Tai Lung softly. "I'm partly scared to death because he might have killed himself by now. And then I'm partly angry... I don't know why."

"Why he hates himself, or why you're angry?" asked Po, trying to coax the snow leopard to talk a little more.

"Why I'm angry," replied the leopard. "I don't know. Part of me wishes he had told me sooner what had happened. Part of me wishes I hadn't gotten him so riled up..."

Nodding slowly, Po seemed to understand the criminal's point. Before he could ask on the legitimacy of his claim, however, Tai Lung continued. "I don't know what it is about him that makes him hate himself so much," he said. "What happened two years ago wasn't even his own fault anyway. It's not his fault he was forced to murder a friend against his own will..."

Viper had listened to this, and slowly she nodded. "I see..." she said. "He must have blamed himself for the actions, as he was the one physically carrying them out. And I'm sure he never wanted to talk about it..."

"Not until I got him so mad he sort of just blurted it out," replied the cat softly. "I shouldn't have gotten him angry..."

"Hey, we all make mistakes sometimes," replied the panda, trying to cheer Tai Lung up. "We're not perfect, ya know."

Tai Lung would have none of that, however, instead shutting his yellow eyes tight when the panda reached that point.

"That doesn't change the fact that it's wrong, though," he said bitingly.

As he kept is eyes shut, Viper and Po glanced at each other uncertainly, the panda shrugging at this as the snake suddenly noticed Tigress returning from the wood.

"I sent Mantis and Crane to Beijing to inform the emperor of our coming," said Tigress. "With any luck, they should be there at least two full days before we arrive."

The other two kung fu fighters nodded at this. Tai Lung did not respond to this, his mind already awash in the regrets that had been piling up on him since the day before. It was to the point that he barely responded to anything the rest of the day.

The hours seemed to pass quite slowly, but then sleep slowly began to take him.

It was only then that his regrets had gotten to him.

He felt a solitary tear slide down his cheek as he felt sleep overtake him.

What he did not expect was for a thumb to rub his tear dry. Using what little energy he had left, he opened his eyes to find Po drawing his thumb away. The panda seemed to notice this, and it was then that his emerald eyes took on a quality Tai Lung had never noticed before.

The snow leopard smiled softly, another tear rolling down his cheek that the Dragon Warrior could not see. Someone had seen the return of Tai Lung's humanity.

He had failed to notice that Viper, hiding in the trees above, had also noticed the tears that Tai Lung wept silently. But he cared not; at least one person was able to see his pain. At least one person knew he was being sincere about it.

And with this knowledge, the snow leopard fell asleep, eyes closing as he leaned back against the tree he was tied to, more for the comfort and less because of the bindings keeping him there.

* * *

Tai Lung was woken up by the slightest shifting of leaves. His eyes darted open, and then he looked around the camp. Po and the three members of the Furious Five that were still in the Devil's Mouth were all sleeping soundly when Tai Lung had woken up.

This left the predatory cat confused. Had Mantis and Crane already come back? He scoffed at this notion; it took a while to get to Beijing even on wings from where he assumed they were. So it had to be something else.

His question was answered when he felt the rope connecting him to the tree wriggle around a little bit. After a small amount of this, the rope rolled off of the tree and formed a ring around it with Tai Lung's feet as the basis for this.

Before the leopard could wonder what had just happened, he suddenly felt himself get lifted, and looking to where he felt the lift come from he was utterly shocked to find that Miles was the one trying to carry him.

Tai Lung opened his mouth to protest, but before he could he noticed that Miles was lumbering around the camp, his footsteps creating quite a lot of noise within the camp. The leopard was about to point out that this was not working when he noticed that neither Po nor the small contingent of the Five were stirring in their sleep (except for Viper, as he forgot where she was sleeping). When this realization hit him, the kitsune had already carried Tai Lung out of the camp. Noticing this, he suddenly noticed that Miles was running very far away.

After they had gone past a certain point, their footsteps were no longer so loud in Tai Lung's ears. The kitsune kept moving, however, and then he looked behind him, checking to make sure nobody had followed him to that point.

Miles stopped in a small clearing and set Tai Lung down.

"Miles, what the hell were you doing?" he asked as the kitsune set his pack down. "And--?"

"Rescuing you," interrupted Miles softly as he thumbed through his pack. "That's what I was doing."

"Do you know how much noise you made?" asked the snow leopard.

The kitsune then took out the video camera, and Tai Lung suddenly noticed that it was open in a grotesque kind of way. He noticed that the camera's casing was open, revealing a mesh of wires that connected to extra copper and the carving knife that had been discarded at the place of the fight. The wires were connected to the knife, and at the edge wasa a make-shift antennae made from a piece of wire that the cat had never noticed.

"Somehow, despite being under a time constraint of six hours and having only this stuff to work with, I made a sound shield," replied Miles. "None of them heard that racket. Trust me when I tell you that much."

The kitsune then took out a piece of twine from his pack, and looking over the leopard's body, he found the knot and stuck the twig in there inch by inch.

As he did this, Tai Lung's expression went from one of total shock to one of complete happiness. His eyes beamed in happiness as the twig eventually worked the knot loose, after which Miles quickly gestured for the cat to sit up. When he did, the ropes fell to the side, and then Tai Lung moved his arms, finding that they were able to move of their own accord. The ropes slid off him further after this, and then he stood up and the length slithered down, forming a ring around him.

Unsure of what to say to this, Tai Lung simply looked at the rope.

Miles was one step ahead of him, however, and Tai Lung was startled when he felt the kitsune jump onto his body, holding it in a tight hug. The leopard looked down at the kitsune, his body trying to hold on to his torso.

"I'm sorry," said Miles softly as he looked up at Tai Lung with sad eyes. "I shouldn't have left you in the middle of the forest like that. I'm so, so sorry... And I'm sorry too that I didn't tell you sooner about what happened..."

Tai Lung simply looked down at the kitsune before a powerful arm held the kitsune against him. He smiled brightly as he looked down at his companion.

"Hey, you rescued me," replied the snow leopard. "That's all that needs to be said."

Miles was then let down as he looked up at his travelling companion. "Thank you," added Tai Lung. "For giving me a chance. You... You've effected something different in me..."

"Not holding grudges?" asked the kitsune, remembering his rant from earlier.

"Yes," said the snow leopard. "But... how'd you get over that fit so quickly? You must have seen that fight if you were able to track me to that point..."

The kitsune simply smiled. "I got visited by Sonic and your master Oogway in a dream," he replied, taking a hold of the leopard's hand. "Well..."

"I don't think you have to say anything else," replied Tai Lung, rolling his eyes at a few memories of the old tortoise. "I think I know what happened."

The leopard patted Miles' head. "I'm glad you pulled through for me," he added. "You have no idea how worried I was about you... You scared me half to death, you know! I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if the one person who had been kind to me after all I did had died..."

The kitsune nodded, looking up at Tai Lung. "You don't know how much I appreciate that," he said. "I didn't think anybody could care... I've been alone for two years..."

Tai Lung simply knelt down, and then the two companions gave each other a hug. Miles was on the verge of tears by this point, at which Tai Lung simply patted the kitsune's back.

"It's all right," replied Tai Lung, smiling. "I'm your friend."

"I know," said Miles, smiling as well. "That makes me so happy to know that you still care..."

They broke the hug slowly, Tai Lung looking at his young friend. It was then that he saw the kitsune's smile for the first time. The cat nodded as he stood up. "Now come on, we can talk a little later. For now, we've gotta get as far away from those guys as we can!"

"But where do we go?" asked Miles.

Tai Lung nodded. "We can keep going this way," said the leopard. "I know that if we keep going up the Devil's Mouth will end right as we get to the imperial city of Beijing. We can double back from there and get out of the country quickly."

Miles' eyes widened. "Wait, so you want to leave China now?" he asked. "But I thought you were still angry?"

Tai Lung nodded. "I'm still angry, yes," he said. "But I think you're right. I thought about it a bit... and after that I realized you have a point. I can't take vengeance on my father of all people... He did nothing wrong..."

The fox shrugged. "Okay," he said. "If my friends ever take me back in, then I'm sure they'll gladly accept you as a friend."

The predatory cat nodded. "That sounds nice, yes..." he said. "Now let's go before they wake up!"

The kitsune nodded, and then he jumped onto Tai Lung's back. The two of them subsequently sped off into the distance afterwards, Miles holding on to his friend as they ran away from the Furious Five and from Po as they slept, escape imminent as they moved along.


	15. Crane: Chapter 7

All right. Now, let's talk about the status of this fic.

This will be the last chapter of the separate narratives. Like in the original TTLG, there will be an ultimatum chapter where the two alternating storylines come together. That starts next chapter, though.

It also has to be split into two parts; if any of you loyal TTLG readers remember the last time we had an ultimatum chapter, we started at the point when the two storylines came together and worked our way through until we reached the climax of the story. In this case, the climax is the event that ends the downward spiral. And it will be split in two parts, mainly because a ton of stuff happens.

Oh, and the first half of the ultimatum chapters takes place on the same day that this chapter takes place, so don't you worry about that.

Anyhoos, I've rambled long enough. Let's start bringing the storylines together, shall we?

* * *

Crane: Chapter 7

The bird flew on in the day, Mantis riding on his head as they both tried to see through the fog.

"I sure hope things are going okay with Po and the others," said Crane as they both navigated through the fog in the early morning sun.

"Trust me, man, I'm sure they are," replied Mantis as he looked around him. "At least he's been going quietly."

"Yeah, but what about that friend that was supposed to be with him?" asked Crane. "Won't he be coming for Tai Lung?"

Mantis looked down to the bird beneath his legs. "If he does come, it'll be as much a surprise to him as it is to us," replied Mantis. "His chi seemed to tell me that..."

Crane simply rolled his eyes. "Leave it to the acupuncturist to sense something like that," he observed.

"Well, he _did_ look rather morose," replied the insect. "I swear, Crane, when I checked his aura I noticed he wasn't faking anything."

"Let's just hope his foot is all right," said the bird as he continued flying along. "That's the least we can do for him."

The insect nodded in agreement as they continued flying on in silence. The insect tried to concentrate on his surroundings after this brief conversation, noticing that the cliff face seemed to be lowering itself.

However, Mantis suddenly noticed a strange sound coming from the ground.

"Wait, I think the kid freed him," said Mantis, holding one of his pincers to his head. "Listen in, Crane!"

The kung fu master suddenly tuned in, and indeed he heard the sound of footsteps on the ground of the Devil's Mouth. The insect then hummed a little, croucing on Crane's back as the bird looked back to his companion.

And without much warning, Mantis leapt off of the crane, and then a hit and a dull thud was heard followed by a groan of pain.

Crane turned around and dove to the ground after hearing this. Concerned for his friend, he found that Tai Lung and the two-tailed fox that they had seen in the plains had been knocked back against a tree, with Mantis in a fighting stance in front of them. Slowly, Tai Lung stood up, Miles groaning as he felt the pressure released.

"Should've figured we'd run into you," said Tai Lung.

"Can it," replied Mantis. "I can't believe you escaped!"

"Well, unlike some people, I did something right for once," replied Miles, coming out from behind the leopard and pointing at himself. "I pulled through for a friend. And that's a lot more than I can say for my actions during the past two years."

Crane looked at Miles, indeed seeing Mantis' point. The insect simply growled at the two in front of him.

"So it looks like you won't be telling the emperor much, then," said Tai Lung as he placed his fists on his hips. "I'll tell you what; you can go to the Furious Five and tell them that you found the both of us dead while we escape from China. I'll never, ever return, and things will be fine."

"And what, wreak havoc elsewhere?" asked the bird. "Maybe we can search for that flying thing _and_ take you to the emperor ourselves.

At this, Tai Lung's eyes widened considerably. Noticing this, Mantis dropped his fighting stance. Crane took a little longer to drop the fighting stance he had subconsciously taken when he saw that Tai Lung was not even preparing to take a stance.

"So you noticed it too," the snow leopard mentioned.

"Well, Tigress did," corrected Mantis. "She wanted us to go investigate that as well as tell the emperor..."

Miles was confused by this. "Noticed what?" he asked, looking up at a friend.

"Shortly before I was attacked by the Dragon Warrior, I saw something flying in the fog," replied Tai Lung, closing his eyes as his ears flattened against his head. "I thought I was just seeing things. Apparently I wasn't. Did she know what it was?"

Crane and Mantis both looked at each other and shrugged. "She said it looked like a bird holding a girl in its talons," continued Mantis. "A rabbit girl. She looked like the one that asked us to find Tails, too..."

The kitsune stiffened considerably, a chill racing down his spine as these words proccessed themselves in his head.

"Oh my god..." he said. "Cream got kidnapped!?"

"Yeah," Crane said, suddenly noticing the look of concern that Tai Lung gave to his friend. "She came to the palace to see if we could find you. But Shifu was supposed to be there guarding her..."

Before much else could be said, however, Miles shook his head. "No..." he said. "Do you know what might've happened to her?"

"Ain't got a clue, man," replied Mantis with a shrug. "But knowing most kidnappers, she's probably still alive."

The fox could not help the shocked and concerned look on his face. However, he seemed slightly relieved to hear this. Shaking his head, he waved his hand.

"I've gotta help her," said the kitsune sternly. "It's my fault she's in this mess."

Tai Lung was caught greatly off guard by this statement. "W-what?" he asked. "I thought you were done with the self-guilt episodes!"

"I am," Miles replied determinedly. "Thinking about it now, there was nothing I could've done to save Sonic. This is different. This, I _can_ do something about. And no matter what you say, I'm going with these guys to help my friend. It's my fault she's here, and it's my duty to get her out of there."

This stance caused a small silence to pervade the small portion of the forest they were around. All eyes were on the kitsune as he felt a strange determination in his soul that he had never felt in a very long time. Tai Lung was not sure how to feel about this new mindset while Crane and Mantis were both spellbound, keeping an eye on the two of them in case Tai Lung tried anything.

Finally, however, the cat patted Miles' head in a sort of fatherly fashion.

"Then I'll be coming along with you," he said.

This shocked both Crane and Mantis beyond words, such that Crane stuttered for a few seconds. "Are you serious?" asked Mantis as the bird struggled to find his wording. "Tai Lung, the most infamous criminal in all of China, helping us? Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm being completely serious," said the leopard. "I won't abandon Miles now. Not after he saved my life and rescued me from you guys. If helping him save his friend means that much to him, I'll be more than happy to help. And if it means I have to join you guys as well, so be it. My criminal life can go rape itself; that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that I have a friend, and I'm going to help him."

Crane and Mantis both looked at each other with a shocked expression on their faces. They then turned back to face the predatory cat and his friend as they both looked at the members of the Furious Five. They then looked at each other and shrugged tenatively.

"I guess we could use all the help we could get..." said Crane, shrugging.

"My only question is, how would we--?" began Mantis.

"Mei Ling!"

All eyes went to Crane as he held a wing up as if an idea had suddenly come to him.

"Mei Ling?" asked Miles curiously. "Who's that?"

"She's a friend of mine," replied the bird. "She's a really, really good friend of mine. Actually, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be a kung fu warrior. She's got a dojo in Beijing that she can hide you in, and I'm sure she'll trust me enough to take my word for it and help."

"W-what?" asked Mantis. "You're dragging her into this?"

"We're going to have to, Mantis," replied the bird. "You'd be crazy to think we can let Tai Lung wander around freely if we took him straight to the emperor. And since he's gotta be free to help Miles..."

Mantis nodded at this, seeing Crane's point. "Well, okay," he said. "I hope you guys can keep up with a flying bird, though."

"Don't worry," offered Miles as he began to spin his tails around. "I've got it covered."

And with this, the kitsune grabbed a hold of Tai Lung's wrists, and the two of them lifted off the ground.

"Whoah," said Mantis as he hopped onto Crane. "I never knew foxes could fly!"

"Natural talent, I guess," replied Miles with a shrug as the bird took off into the sky. "Being born with two tails does that to you..."

Mantis nodded at this, and then the bird and kitsune flew the insect and leopard through the fog quickly.

* * *

With nearly an hour of solid flight (and alternating between running and flying for Miles), the group finally saw the thick mist of the Devil's Mouth dissolve into nothing as the gates of the imperial city of Beijing lay sprawled out before them. Miles landed with a small thud, Tai Lung looking on as Crane stood beside them.

The four looked into a grand city, crowds of people running around throughout the day. The architecture was rather simple, but a ways off Miles noticed a grand building kept under incredibly tight guard a long distance away. The city itself was rather pleasant to look at with its grand simplicity, and Miles found himself rather awestruck.

He was quickly snapped out of it when Tai Lung rubbed his head, though.

"So, this is Beijing, eh?" he asked.

"Yeah," replied Crane. "Today's market day; perfect."

"Means we can get him in without the guards noticing," said Mantis as he pointed out to the assortment of people.

"Okay then," said Miles. "Let's get to wherever this 'Mei Ling' person is staying and stick around there."

The group of four nodded, and then they entered the imperial city slowly, checking their surroundings constantly.


	16. Ultimatum: Chapter 8

Okay, let's start bringing the storyline together, yes?

I present you now with, Pennance's Ultimatum!

* * *

Ultimatum: Chapter 8

Somehow, Tai Lung had made it through the large crowd without being noticed by anyone. He attributed this to the fact that there were plenty of bulls milling about the marketplace as Miles and Crane led him on.

Finally, they came upon a modest building made entirely of bamboo with a small door leading in. It was open at the time, so Crane peeked in. Tai Lung and Miles decided to hang back outside just in case.

The bird looked up and saw the little entrance gong that Mei Ling kept on the side. It was more of an opera gong, really, but the bird never minded. Mantis crawled onto his head, a wooden beater in his pincers as he looked up at the gong. Jumping up, he hit the gong with a well-timed strike to its center.

Almost instantly, a female mountain lion poked her head through a doorway in the house. Upon noticing Crane in the entrance, she smiled, and she put down whatever she had been doing and ran over to the entrance!

"Master Crane!" she said.

"Oh, don't give me that, Mei Ling!" replied Crane just before he was swept into a friendly hug. "It's just, 'Crane' between us. Listen, I've got a huge, huge favor to ask."

It was then that the female cat noticed Tai Lung standing in the doorway. She shrunk back at this, apprehension in her eyes.

"It's not what you think!" cried Crane suddenly as he entered the house. "Please, just let us explain."

Tai Lung and Miles entered the small abode after this, Mei Ling keeping an ever-incessant eye on the snow leopard as he entered the room. A tense silence lasting about a full minute took hold of the small room, the woman prepared to fight in case Tai Lung lunged at her. A full minute passed, and then she noticed that the snow leopard was not making any moves towards her at all. When she noticed this, she blinked, looking to Crane uncertainly.

"Okay, okay," said the female cat at length. "Talk. If he isn't trying to kill me, then I'll take your word for it."

"Good," said Crane. "It's a bit complicated, so it might take a while to explain."

"It's market day," replied Mei Ling as a smirk came on her face. "I won't have anything to teach all day."

"Okay then," said Tai Lung, bowing respectfully.

And the group of four went on to explain their tale as they all walked into Mei Ling's kitchen.

* * *

"And that's basically it. I'm not here to cause havoc; I'm here because I think Miles could use the help."

The mountain lion was busy moving around the small kitchen, preparing some soup for the four of them. The cups were already splayed out in front of them, waiting to be filled by the liquidy substance that Mei Ling was preparing in a pot over a fire.

"I see..." she said. "So you think this 'Cream' person is in Beijing..."

"It's the only real place the kidnapper could've gone being in the Devil's Mouth," countered Mantis as he sat on the small table. "I think..."

"Yeah," said Miles tentatively. "I just hope she's okay..."

"Trust me, by the time we're done searching for her, she'll be fine," replied Crane.

"But you guys do need a plan of attack, yes?" asked Mei Ling. "So what do we do?"

Mantis shrugged. "Well, we did have to go report to the Emperor that Tai Lung was captured," the insect said.

"You're not suggesting saying anything about this to him, do you?" asked Miles, hair standing on end as Tai Lung glared at him.

The insect shrugged. "I don't know what it is," he said. "But there's this nagging doubt in my mind that something bigger is going on here."

Crane's expression shifted slightly, and then the other three occupants of the room raised their eyebrows, confused at what conclusion the bird might have reached. "It's Wang Dun's story concerning Tai Lung's escape, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." replied Mantis. "I thought it was a little odd how a bird could go back and forth between Chohr Gom and Beijing in a single day..." Mei Ling and Miles nodded as the insect turned to face Tai Lung. "And now that we have the man himself here... I wonder, how did you escape despite having little food and water?"

Tai Lung shook his head, a grimace coming across his face. "A scout helped me out."

This sent everybody except Miles staring at him in shock. Without anything else impeding him, Tai Lung continued. "Some bird scout dressed in black helped me escape from Chohr Gom. He said I would be useful to someone. I still don't know who wanted me, or what he would've needed me for."

Crane and Mantis both gave each other glances. "A... Are you sure you're not just trying to throw us off?"

"He told me the same thing," butted in Miles before Tai Lung could reply. "He never mentioned anything about what exactly it was, but I'm sure it's the same one. Trust me when I tell you that he would not have escaped without his help; when I found Tai Lung, his tongue was swollen from lack of water. If he had gone another day without water when I found him he would've died."

The other three occupants glanced at each other, thoughts running through their heads. "This goes deep," said Mei Ling, crossing her arms in front of her. "Whoever kidnapped Cream is definitely linked with Tai Lung's escape. And we also know he's related to Wang Dun somehow."

"Okay, so I guess it's settled then," replied Crane. "I'll go to the imperial palace with Mantis, and we'll say what we had intended to before all this happened. And then I'll go look for Cream under the cover of visiting you."

"And I'll stay behind to keep an eye on Wang Dun," added Mantis. "Whatever happens there, I should be able to tell you about."

"Which leaves us three," said Miles, gesturing to himself, Mei Ling, and Tai Lung. "What should we do?"

Mei Ling shrugged. "Depending on how you think of it, rescuing her by night would be much, much easier, yes?" she asked.

"So have us find her by day and then rescue her by night is what you're saying?" asked Miles.

The mountain lion nodded as she peered into the pot of soup. Grabbing a ladle from nearby, he took the first of the soup cups and dipped the ladle in the pot. "Pretty much," replied the woman.

"So what do you suggest we do?" asked Tai Lung.

"Tai Lung, I think you should stay here during the day," replied the mountain lion, much to the chagrin of the leopard. "We can't run the risk of the imperial guard seeing you free. Especially after Crane and Mantis tell the emperor about you."

"But what am I going to do then?" asked the leopard uncertainly.

Smirking deviously, Mei Ling looked up as she poured the soup into the cup. "You and I could always spar until sunset," she offered, setting the cup down in front of Mantis and picking up Miles' empty cup. "I've always wanted to know what facing the master of all 1000 scrolls of kung fu would be like."

Smiling at this, Tai Lung rubbed his chin. "I think I'll take you on that offer," he said. "So then what will Miles do in the meantime?"

"I'll go looking for Cream, of course," replied the kitsune as his cup of soup was placed in front of him. "Help Crane out a little bit by exploring different parts of the city."

"Okay, so it's settled, then," said Crane.

"Okay," the mountain lion said as she set Tai Lung's soup cup in front of him, the steaming liquid filling it nearly to the brim. "So have some lunch here, and let's get down to business!"

The group of four nodded as the female cat picked up the crane's soup cup, and as soon as that was filled the group treated itself to her very tasty concoction.

* * *

Mantis and Crane felt very stiff as they paraded into the imperial throne room. Looking in, they saw the emperor of China sitting grandly on a large chair. Guards flanked all over the room, Wang Dun standing right beside the emperor stoically. As soon as the two entered, the emperor bowed his head in respect to the two kung fu warriors.

"Good day, members of the Furious Five," began the emperor. "I trust you have something to report?"

"We do, milord," replied Crane as Mantis bowed on top of the bird's head. "We have captured Tai Lung. Master Tigress had us come ahead to bring you the news."

"Excellent," replied the emperor, nodding contentedly. "And I trust the rest of the Five and the Dragon Warrior are on their way here with the prisoner?"

"Yes, milord," replied the bird. "We did wind up in the Devil's Mouth, however, so it may take them a little longer than usual to arrive."

"Still, it is good to see that China's most wanted criminal will finally be put to justice," said the emperor. "A third time," he added, with a distasteful grimace.

"Well, you know what they say, milord," pointed out Mantis. "'Third time's the charm.' At least this time he'll be out for good."

"Indeed," replied the bull stoically. "I thank you for this news. You may stay here at the imperial palace until the rest of the five come."

Crane and Mantis both bowed to the emperor. "Thank you, my lord," replied the two of them.

The emperor nodded to his guards. "Guards!" he said. "Show them to their quarters."

"Yes, sir!" barked the guards quickly.

Stoically walking forward, the guards nodded to the two kung fu masters, and then Crane and Mantis were both following the guards to their quarters.

When the two of them had left the throne room, Mantis leaned close.

"Did you notice Wang Dun's expression in there?" asked the insect, whispering so Crane could hear but the guards could not. "I think he looked a little disturbed..."

The bird nodded, the two of them continuing on to their quarters in silence.

* * *

Miles had begun walking around the city of Beijing. The kitsune was keeping a rather heavy eye out for the alleys; many, many markets stalls were in his way, but he knew that not only did he have to keep a low profile, but that Cream would not be in the open when she had been abducted. His pack was still around his shoulder; Mei Ling had advised him to leave it behind, but he had insisted on taking it.

He looked around aimlessly, not even noticing when the crowd had dispersed. When he did, however, he found himself completely alone. Gulping nervously and tugging on his burgundy vest, the kitsune advanced into the area.

Looking around him, he noticed a side of the city that very few people seemed to want to venture into. All around him were rather nice buildings, but the people around them were destitute, stuck in poverty. Miles figured he had accidentally wandered into the slums of Beijing. This, however, did not phase him; he figured Cream would probably be more likely to show up in a slum than she did in the more opulent portion of the city. Pulling his vest over him as his sapphire eyes glanced around uncertainly, he pressed forward, glancing into the alleyways as he moved.

It was in this way that he suddenly thought he saw Cream standing in a crowd of beautiful women. He had nearly walked right past the particular alley when he stopped, the sight of the rabbit fresh in his around, he took a step or two backwards and peered into the alleyway.

And indeed, there she was, wearing a strange dress of orange with flowers woven into the fabric that the kitsune could not make out. The rabbit had not noticed his presence yet, however, so Miles made it a point to surprise her with his presence.

However, a rather large man appeared from the wall of the valley that he had not seen. The figure towered over the kitsune, staring down at him with suspicious yellow eyes. The man was a rather large predatory cat with bulging muscles and a look that Miles swore could kill. The man in front of him was a tiger, white fur being marred only by black stripes as he looked coldly down at Miles in his dress of pants and a plain vest. Looking down at the kitsune, he smiled, the smile sending shivers down the kitsune's back.

"So, you're here for them?" asked the man in front of him. "You look a bit young to be hanging out with them."

Miles decided he had to play along. "Well, I..." he began uncertainly, his cover story coming to him as he thought of it. "I'm actually sixteen, sir. I ran away from home... and I'm alone... And I was thinking maybe..."

"...to try my harem?" asked the figure, chuckling darkly. "Ah, you have come to the right place then. My harem has the finest women in China, I can assure you that. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help you. Just pay up, take your pick, and go inside. Anything will be good payment."

It was at this moment that Miles was relieved he had stuck by his decision to take his pack with him. Setting the bag down, his hand worked through it, eventually going to the carving knife he had in there. Hopefully, he would not be needing it anymore, and it would be good since he could avoid suicidal thoughts faster. Pulling it out of the bag, he revealed this.

"Perhaps my knife for an hour with the rabbit girl in the orange dress?" asked Miles.

The tiger took the weapon in his hand, inspecting the blade carefully. As he did, he smiled, the kitsune becoming progressively more creeped out by the smile.

"Yes, this will do just fine," said the cat, stepping out of the way of his entrance. "I hope you enjoy her. She's new here, so go easy on her, all right?"

The fox nodded at this as he slung his pack over his shoulders. His heart was racing at a very fast speed as he approached the rabbit who he realized he knew so well. He stepped closer to her, glad that she had not noticed him yet. It took all of his will not to pounce on her, for he still felt the eyes of the man who had essentially sold the rabbit's body to him on his person, threatening him with death if he tried anything funny.

Cream had not noticed anything until Miles roughly put a hand on her shoulder. Making sure not to look back, he quickly dove into the doorway that became all to visible to him as he entered the crowd. Going through the door, he let out a breath as he looked to Cream.

Before he could get a single word out of his person within the building, the rabbit had tackled Miles to the ground, caramel eyes closed as she cried into the kitsune's shoulder.

"Oh, Tails, you're alive, you're alive, you're alive!" said Cream. "I was so worried!"

"And to think, I found you!" he whispered softly as he sat up on the ground. Cream unwrapped her arm from his person, looking at him with a smile.

"I've been looking for you forever," said the rabbit. "But still... I didn't think--!"

"Shh..." replied Miles as he stood up quickly. "I purchased an hour with you. We should probably get into... wherever you are before he starts noticing anything. I'll tell you more then."

Cream could not agree more with the kitsune. Glancing back at the doorway, the rabbit took a hold of the fox's wrist.

"This way," she said.

And the rabbit led him to a flight of rather dark stairs. He felt himself get carried up until he found himself in a corridor that was fairly dim in its lighting. Cream advanced down the hallway, stopping around the fourth door to her right. She turned then and gestured the kitsune into the room.

"After you," she said.

Miles shrugged and entered the room, the candle providing very little light as he set his pack down by the door. Cream entered shortly afterwards, closing the door behind her as she looked at the kitsune.

"Tails, I didn't think you were into sex these days..." replied the rabbit.

The kitsune shook his head, chuckling bitterly as he sat on what he assumed was the bed. "I'm not," he replied, simply. "I heard about what happened with your kidnapping. And before you ask, I heard from someone who saw your kidnapper making away with you."

"And what do you plan on doing about it?" asked the rabbit, almost too innocently.

"Rescuing you, that's what," he said. "I have a friend here in Beijing with me. He'll be able to help me rescue you. But we've gotta wait until night. That... tiger there won't see what hit him. We'll be like thieves in the night."

Cream shook her head upon hearing the tiger being mentioned. "Tan Tao," she said. "That's his name. He threatened to rape me if I didn't put myself on the streets. I... I don't want to have to sell my body like this..."

"Well, aside from me, did anybody else take interest in you?" asked the kitsune, fur on end as he waited for whatever answer.

To his great relief, he saw Cream shake her head in the lighting. "Thankfully, no," she said. "But he has his ways..."

Miles shifted uncomfortably, adjusting his vest where it was on his shoulders and looking at Cream. Slowly, he felt her hand wander onto hers, and in the brief contact Cream shuddered softly.

"Cream..." he began. "I can't believe you chased me around the world for two years."

"I wanted to see your face again," she said nervously. "We all did. I was just the only one who did something about it. At least, I think..."

"I'll bet your mom's worried sick," Miles said, looking away from the rabbit briefly.

At this, the rabbit simply laughed. "Trust me, I wrote to her all the time," she replied. "At least, until I got into China. It's too bad I never heard from her at all..."

Miles nodded at this, thinking about other things. "Did you call anyone?"

Cream shrugged. "I called Amy once around six months ago," she said. "Tails... She gave birth to Sonic's twin sons while you were gone."

Miles was so shocked by this sudden revelation that all of his fur stood on end, his two tails jerked into a stiff position. "She _what_?" he exclaimed, loud enough to be shocked but not loud enough to be heard.

"I was just as shocked as you were," Cream replied. "Apparently she and Sonic made love the day before you died. She's gotten over his death really fast because of that."

The kitsune smiled, teeth glinting slightly in the light. "I'm glad she did," he said. "It makes me feel better about myself. I didn't think anyone could forgive me for what I did... It was awful, thinking the whole world hated you..."

The rabbit brushed one of her ears to the side. "And what made you change your mind?" she asked.

"Meeting my friend," replied Miles, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It's a long story. But... it led to me seeing Sonic in my dream." Before the rabbit could interrupt, he continued. "It was the best dream I've had in years, Cream. Sonic told me I had been forgiven by everybody... Cream, is that true?"

The rabbit nodded without a second's hesitation. "They did," she said simply. "It's partly why I set off on my quest to find you. Tails..."

Miles shook his head, a tear coming to his eye as he thought of the dreadful day two years ago. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry for running away. I just... I didn't think you guys would forgive me..."

"After explicitly seeing Eggman ordering you around?" asked Cream as she wiped the tear from the kitsune's face gently. "Of course we forgave you!"

Miles sniffled, smiling. "That's..." he started, uncertain of exactly what to say. "Thanks. It's good to know you still care."

Cream nodded. "You're welcome," she said. "We just want you to come home."

"Well, after we get ourselves out of this mess, I plan on going home," he replied. "I hope you don't mind that my friend who's going to help me tonight is going to come as well. He's... he's a former criminal... And he needs a chance to start over."

The rabbit nodded, eyes lit up in happiness. "You know they won't mind," she said. "Any friend of yours is a friend of ours, remember?"

"Yeah, that's true," said Miles, glancing at the door briefly. "Tan Tao... I hope he's not here."

Cream shook her head. "Even then, he has his ways of finding out if we've just sat here talking all day..." she said. "I... I don't know what to do..."

Miles shrugged. "Well, your fear is that someone you don't even know would take things too hard on you, yes?"

Cream nodded, surprised by this question. "Wait, are you saying... you and me...?"

The kitsune closed his eyes, nodding. "To be honest, I had a bit of a crush on you before that whole debacle started..." he said. "I... I'll try to be careful..."

Cream nodded as Miles removed his vest from his person. "Okay..." she said uncertainly. "I'll... I'll trust you with this."

Miles flashed her an uncertain smile as Cream began to undress herself. Nervously, the two of them looked at each other, unsure of whether this was the right choice or not.

* * *

In Mei Ling's dojo, there was a chalkboard. Tai Lung and Mei Ling's names were written on the board, with a bunch of slashes under them.

There were only two slashes under Mei Ling's name, while Tai Lung had accumulated around ten slashes. The snow leopard added yet another slash to his ten, and looking back at the form of Mei Ling curled up on the mat, he placed the piece of chalk down.

Walking back to the young woman, he shook her awake after one of his nerve strikes. The cat opened her eyes groggily, the snow leopard helping her up.

"Wow..." began Mei Ling, rubbing an area behind her head uncertainly. "I lost again, huh?"

"Unfortunately," replied Tai Lung. "You put up a really good fight, though. I almost thought you were going to get another win in for a second there."

"Yeah..." she said. "I guess the master of all one thousand scrolls has his weak points..."

Tai Lung shrugged at this notion. "Well, if the Dragon Warrior managed to beat me without looking at any of the other one thousand scrolls as you tell me, well..."

At this, they suddenly heard a knock on the door. Mei Ling looked concerned at this, and she glanced at Tai Lung quickly.

"Go hide somewhere," she instructed quickly, running to the doorway that was the entrance to her house.

The mountain lion checked the doorway only to find Crane standing there. Sighing in relief, she looked over to the member of the Furious Five.

"Oh, you gave me a bit of a scare there," said Mei Ling. "I thought it was a student..."

"Nah, don't worry about it," replied the bird as he entered. "Tai Lung, you can come out now!"

The snow leopard then just jumped into view inside the dojo, getting into a fighting stance as he eyed Crane playfully. Surprised, the bird looked between the leopard and the lion.

"You two have been going at it since Tails left, haven't you?" he asked.

"What can I say?" asked Tai Lung with a shrug. "It's nice to get back into one on one combat. after having been outnumbered six to one. Not because I can win easier, but it's nice to only have to concentrate on one person."

"That's always good," replied Crane as he and Mei Ling stepped into the dojo. "Is Tails back?"

Both predatory cats shook their heads. "Nope," replied Mei Ling. "You're the first person to check back in with us."

"Oh," said Crane. "I didn't have any luck finding her. Maybe Tails did?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," replied Tai Lung. "He's taking a lot longer than I thought he would..."

"Ah, well," said the bird, looking at the chalkboard on the far end of the dojo. "Gimme a second..."

And the bird approached the board slowly, and looked up at the scoreboard. Deviously, he grabbed a piece of chalk in his foot, and flying up, he wrote his name in the center where Mei Ling and Tai Lung's names were not occupying any space. Looking back at Tai Lung, he found the leopard and the lion both smiling deviously.

"So, up to a three-way spar?" asked Tai Lung, crossing his arms in front of him as his yellow eyes lit up playfully.

"Sure," said Crane, depositing the chalk on the board rather carefully.

* * *

Miles put his vest back on, panting slightly as he sat on the side of the bed. His fur clung to his skin from the sweat, and he sincerely hoped that Mei Ling had a bath in her home.

Cream laid in the bed, tired beyond all else as she looked up at Miles with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks..." she said, softly. "I couldn't have asked for a better first person to... well..."

The kitsune smiled, glad that Cream at least appreciated the gesture. "I know," he said, patting her hand lightly. "I'm glad I was able to help you even in one small thing like this..."

"Tails..." she began softly. "Do... do you think anything will be the same after today?"

Miles shook his head. "After what happens when I come back with my friend to rescue you?" he asked in turn. "I don't think so. I know that we'll both go straight home the next chance we get."

Cream nodded, seeming to be satisfied by that answer. "I can't wait to see Amy's reaction to seeing you again."

The kitsune chuckled at this, appreciating the rabbit's humor. Standing up, he turned around and leaned over the bed, giving a small kiss on Cream's forehead.

"I'll be back," he said softly into her ear. "And when I do return, I'll try my damn best to get you out of here."

And with this, the kitsune walked to the door and grabbed his pack. He gave a last glance at the rabbit he had just made slow, sweet love with to assure her that everything was all right. Smiling, the rabbit drifted off to sleep.

It was then that the kitsune exited the room, keeping his gaze trained on his sleeping friend as he closed the door softly. Looking down the corridor, he burned the location into his memory and then promptly left the whorehouse, his pack slung over his shoulder and a small smile on his face.


	17. Ultimatum: Chapter 9

All right, so last time Cream and Tails... well, you know... *awkward*

Anyways, after that bit, we start getting to the big stuff in the Ultimatum.

I lied, by the way. Thinking about it now, the best way to pace the Ultimatum chapters is in 3 chapters instead of two. Sorry about that...

So let's continue on!

* * *

Ultimatum: Chapter 9

When Miles had finally gotten to Mei Ling's doorway, the sun was just beginning to set. He heard the sounds of fighting coming from deep within the small house. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the kitsune slowly walked towards the sounds.

What he saw dazzled him; Tai Lung, Mei Ling, and Crane were engaged in a three-way brawl that somehow had not destroyed anything yet. Punches and kicks had been flying all over the place, and when the kitsune noticed this he crossed his arms in front of him, looking on in curiousity. Watching intently for a few seconds, he watched as the three of them attempted to land blows on each other, all of them so involved in what they were doing that they had barely noticed Miles entrance.

The kitsune smiled briefly and set his pack down by the doorway.

"So I see you guys kept yourselves occupied while I was gone," he said suddenly.

All action inside the dojo came to an abrupt halt, all three of the other occupants looking at Miles as they held their fighting stances.

"Oh, you're back!" said Mei Ling, dropping her stance.

"Did you find her?" asked Crane as he and Tai Lung both sauntered over to the doorway.

"Yeah, I did," replied the kitsune. "She's in the nastier-looking part of Beijing."

Mei Ling nodded. "Oh, dear..." she said. "How did you find her?"

Miles shook her head. "Whoever had kidnapped her had forced her to become a prostitute," the fox said softly.

The mountain lion's hand instantly went to her mouth, the cat getting a very frightened look on her face. Crane looked on with concern at this. "She... she hadn't been touched, had she?"

"Not when I got to her..." replied Miles with a shrug. "When I got there though... well... I... I kinda... you know..."

Tai Lung rolled his eyes. "Were you gentle?" he asked. "And careful?"

Miles nodded quickly in reply. "Yeah, I was," he said. "I had a crush on her before that debacle happened. I just didn't want her to have to have someone brutalize her during her first time. She did give me her consent, too..."

Mei Ling let out a huge sigh of relief as Crane nodded. "Fortune is certainly with us," said the mountain lion.

Tai Lung nodded in agreement as he turned to Miles. "So, Miles," he said. "You remember where this place was, right?"

"Of course," replied the kitsune. "We'll wait for the sun to go completely down."

"All right," said the snow leopard. "Crane, you should probably get back to the emperor's palace."

The bird nodded, turning to the three of them. "I'll see you guys later tonight when I can sneak Mantis and myself out."

And with this, the crane left the small house, leaving the three people already in there to talk amongst themselves.

* * *

A knock came on the rabbit's door. Stirring slightly, the rabbit looked over to the door.

"Come in..." she said softly.

The door opened, and in the dim lighting of the hallway she was able to make out the form of Tai Xue, matronly smile across her features.

"Oh, hi," said the rabbit drowsily as the snow leopardess walked over.

"Cream," she said. "I heard you sold yourself to your first client today. Apparently Tan Tao was very pleased with the results..."

The rabbit shook her head, smiling. "The client..." she said. "He happened to be that friend I was looking for."

A shocked silence came upon Tai Xue's eyes as she looked down at the rabbit. She stared for a few seconds in awe before smiling broadly.

"Oh, that is wonderful!" she said simply. "I hope he is all right."

"He is," replied the rabbit, hoping Tai Xue would not ask any questions. "I'm sorry. I'm kind of tired right now..."

"Oh, apologies for having barged in then!" said the older snow leopard as she backed towards the door. "I figured I might check on you, but it seems you are all right."

Cream smiled softly. "I appreciate the gesture, though," she said. "Thanks."

"It is always my pleasure, my dear," replied Tai Xue softly as she peered at the young rabbit from the doorway. "Good night."

The rabbit was too tired to inquire about the time of day, so she simply grabbed her pillow. "Good night," she replied sweetly.

And then the elderly woman closed the door behind her, letting Cream to herself as thoughts of the kitsune came into the rabbit's mind again.

* * *

Tai Lung jumped onto the roof of Mei Ling's small house, the mountain lion looking as she swept the ground in front of her home. Miles held onto his shoulders intently, gaze set forward. The stars were glittering brilliantly overhead, the rest of China having fallen asleep by this point.

"Are you sure you two can do this without my help?" asked the mountain lion.

"If this 'Tan Tao' person sees you, there's no telling what will happen," replied Miles. "If he and Wang Dun are at least acquaintances, you know we're all done."

Mei Ling nodded, and then he looked up at Tai Lung. "You be careful out there."

The snow leopard nodded at this, giving the female cat a thumbs-up sign as he cracked a smile. "I escaped from Chohr Gom and I beat all of the Furious Five before I met the Dragon Warrior," he said. "I can take on a crime lord and his victims!"

The other predatory cat nodded at this, seeing the leopard's point. "May good fortune be with you!" she said.

Both leopard and fox looked down at Mei Ling, smiling at her with a wink.

Tai Lung set off into the night rapidly, the kitsune clinging on as he looked over from over his friend's shoulder.

* * *

It was very late at night, and there was still no sign of any clues that might have been left behind by Miles or Tai Lung. The fact that the mist was still hanging over the valley did not help matters any.

It was in this state that Po found himself looking around as he and the Furious Five headed for Beijing. Tigress had already ranted quite angrily about how Tai Lung disappearing on them could not have been a good thing, going so far as to insinuate that the little kitsune kid had something to do with his escape. She continually asserted that Tai Lung had seen it coming. At this assumption, Po and Viper had exchanged glances, the two of them both knowing that Tigress was wrong in this regard but keeping their mouths shut nonetheless to avoid getting her even angier than she already had been.

They had thus been going forward since the day began, never once resting much to the chagrin of everybody in the group. However, nobody really complained as they all knew it could not be avoided.

It was with this that the group moved along in the forest, spying every detail. Tigress had not seen anything interesting, so the group had continued on.

A sound caught Tigress' attention, however. Her ears suddenly perked up, listening intently. The other three people in the small group noticed this, and so they readied their fighting positions as Tigress listened intently.

However, her tail stiffened visibly as she saw a small form dash by in the misty forest. Eyes widening in shock, she stood up slowly.

"Master Shifu?"

This question baffled the other three travellers with her, but before they could ask the cat had broken out into a run. Shrugging, the rest followed closely behind as Tigress began calling out her master's name.

And then suddenly the four of them found themselves face to face with their aging master, the red panda looking at the group in a great deal of surprise.

"Master Shifu!" said Po almost instantly, coming forward. "What're you doin' here?"

The old kung fu master shook his head. "I need to find Cream," he said. "She was kidnapped two nights ago."

At this, everybody else was rather shocked. "No way..." said Viper, lips pursed in uncertainty. "That can't be true, master!"

"It is true," Shifu replied. "I came to look for her."

"Wait a minute," said Tigress, crossing her arms in front of her. "How come you're not guarding the Dragon Scroll?"

Shifu was about to reprimand his student for asking, but as he opened his mouth the words died on his tongue. The tiger truly did have a point, and the visions he had seen came flooding back into his mind in an instant.

"I have been recieving visions," replied the red panda. "Visions of what's to come. The Dragon Scroll will not be touched according to them."

"That's not reassuring," said Viper. "We had captured Tai Lung, but he escaped, and he could be after you."

The master pursed his lips together, thinking. "Was... Tails, as Cream calls him... Was he with Tai Lung when you caught him?"

All four of them looked at each other before shaking their heads almost simultaneously. "He wasn't," said Po.

It was then that Shifu smiled, throwing all four of the warriors off. "Then destiny has successfully run its course," said the panda. "And Tai Lung has changed for the better."

Tigress' form stiffened at this as Viper and Po looked at each other, the great panda's eyes lighting up in amusement as the snake simply nodded.

"W-what?" asked the cat, blinking. "That's impossible! Tai Lung could have sent that kid to get him afterwards!"

Po shook his head as he placed a hand on Tigress' shoulder. "He's right, Tigress," he said. Before she could yell at Po, too, he continued. "You know what I saw just before Tai Lung fell asleep yesterday?" Tigress was silent at this, and when the silence had persisted long enough Po took this as a cue to continue. "I saw him cry last night. It was just before he fell asleep. He cried tears, Tigress."

"And they were not fake tears, either," added Viper, sensing the cat's doubt. "I saw them too. They were tears of a man who had lost someone close to him. Those tears, cannot be faked. He really was concerned for Tails, Tigress."

The cat said nothing, letting the silence speak for itself. Finally, she sighed, raising her paws. "All right," she said. "I'll trust you with this. But if it turns out that I was right all along, you'll be hearing from me about it."

Shifu closed his eyes and nodded once. "I shall see you proven wrong eventually," he said. "I shall continue looking for Cream. I expect you all to look for Tai Lung as well. If he has changed as my visions have foretold, I give you full permission to get him to leave China forever."

The Dragon Warrior and the three members of the Five that were with him nodded, bowing to their master. "Don't die on us, whatever you do."

Shifu simply looked at his students with confidence, although Viper could have sworn that she saw some other emotion flicker briefly on his aged sapphire orbs. With this, the red panda darted off into the woods, Po and his group of friends standing there uncertain of what they would have to do next.

* * *

Tai Lung landed gracefully on a rooftop, crouching down as Miles looked around.

"Did this look like the right spot?" asked Tai Lung as the kitsune looked around him.

"It is," he said simply after looking at the street patterns. "That Tan Tao guy won't know what hit him."

"Okay," said the snow leopard as he looked into a small, ornate room that had windows into it. "Let us rescue Cream, then."

The kung fu warrior wasted no time jumping down soundlessly into the room that he had seen. Miles followed suit, jumping in and landing in Tai Lung's arms. The kitsune suddenly noticed a woman sleeping in a rather ornate bed. Eyes wide, he pointed at her to Tai Lung, who then turned his head to see the woman there.

"A woman leading a harem, of all things," said Tai Lung bitterly.

"Not the case here," whispered Miles. "The guy that sold Cream to me was a man, most definitely. So who is this lady...?"

The snow leopard thought it best to shake his head. "Forget it," he said. "She's probably not that important, anyway. Come on, Miles. Let's go."

"And we should try not to go this way when we leave," said Miles. "I don't want to risk waking that woman up."

And without another word, the two of them slowly tiptoed to the single door that they had noticed. Slowly, they opened it, being careful not to wake up the sleeping woman as they closed the door softly behind them.

As soon as they did, however, the 'sleeping' woman sat up abruptly, looking to the door. She had kept her eyes almost closed the entire time, but she was able to make out many things.

Probably the biggest thing being that the snow leopard she had caught glimpses of looked so very familiar. The way his brows curved, the way his eyes were set on his head. It set her thinking about many things.

Without much of a thought to why she felt so strongly towards the snow leopard, she got out of the bed, following out as quietly as she could to avoid detection by the intruders into Tan Tao's harem.

* * *

Cream felt herself get shaken awake. Groaning and shaking her head, she opened her eyes slowly in the room still lit by candlelight.

She was instantly awake when she saw Miles' sapphire eyes gleaming in the space above her. Smiling, the rabbit looked at Miles with grateful caramel eyes.

"I told you I'd be back," he said.

Before the kitsune knew what had hit him, the rabbit had jumped out of the bed, hugging Miles with all of her might. It was when she saw Tai Lung's figure in the doorway that she frowned.

"Oh, uh... hi," said Tai Lung nervously. "I'm Tai Lung. I'm... Miles' friend."

"Your eyes are just like his..." said Cream, shaking softly as she looked at the snow leopard and broke the hug nervously.

Sensing her discomfort, the kitsune patted her back. "It's okay," he said reassuringly. "He's not Tan Tao. It's going to be all right."

The rabbit nodded, uncertain of what to believe. She came forward, and when she felt herself get hoisted onto Tai Lung's back, she felt the figure smiling at her.

"Don't worry, Cream," he said reassuringly. "I'm a good friend of Miles'. Just, trust me. I can get you out of here."

Cream nodded uncertainly, deciding to take Tai Lung's word for it and trust him.

"Okay, that takes care of that," said Miles as the three of them stepped out of the room. "Now let's get out of here before Tan Tao gets here!"

"Right!" whispered the other two.

Miles and Tai Lung then quickly ran over to the end of the hallway, running down the stairs quite rapidly when they got there. Cream simply held on to Tai Lung's broad shoulders as he thundered down the stairs quietly. They reached the foot of the stairs and then stepped out into the room. They had gone quite a distance into the room, the exit just within their reach.

However, they suddenly came to a halt in the center of the room, for then they saw a bunch of men standing at the doorway and windows of the large room. They looked all around them and saw the sihlouettes of men with weapons standing around. And before Tai Lung could even rush back to the stairs with Cream in tow, a group of warriors had also taken a stance there. It was then that Tai Lung and Miles looked around them, the leopard snarling as the kitsune looked on in fear.

And then, a candle was lit disturbingly close to where they had been mere seconds earlier. There, was the grinning form of Tan Tao, dark stripes pronounced on his white fur as he looked at them, yellow eyes glinting smugly.

"Ah, I see that fox guy liked you enough to try to rescue you, eh?" taunted the tiger. "I bet he liked your pussy so much he decided to take you away."

"Shut up!" cried the kitsune in an outraged voice, the fear in his system suddenly evaporating at this comment. "She was my friend even before all this!"

"And what makes you think I can take that seriously?" chuckled the crime lord darkly.

Cream shook her head. "You wouldn't care," she spat in a method that surprised even her. "Especially not being who you are!"

Tan Tao had moved to look at Cream when he suddenly noticed the man who she was hanging on to. Smirking and chuckling, the war lord began pacing around the room.

"Well, well, well..." he said, looking the criminal in the eyes. "If it isn't the great Tai Lung himself. I am honored that you are here tonight. I've been waiting for your... presence... ever since I sent that scout out."

Tai Lung raised an eyebrow at this moment. "So _you're_ the one who sent out the scout!" he said. "Wang Dun would never appreciate that!"

The tiger simply smiled about this smugly, setting the candle down on a nearby table. "See, that is where you are wrong," replied the crime lord. "Wang Dun is a very good friend of mine. He has enough power to bribe people not to say anything as well. I tend to look for... noble qualities in my allies. Wang Dun has served my criminal empire well." Here, he began pacing around the room. "Prostitution? The emperor has no knowledge of any of my harems. Drug rings? All under my command. Illegal arms dealing? Couldn't be more proftable."

"Cut the bullshit, now!" said Miles, waving his hand in front of him. "What did you want him for?"

"What else?" asked the crime lord smugly. "To spread anarchy and chaos across the land. No matter how much there is in this land, it would only benefit my aims that much more. And then my criminal empire can remain safe. Maybe you could be a higher officer in that emire, and maybe I could make people see you for who you really are..."

The three individuals just stood there, the atmosphere in the room so tense that it could be cut with a dagger. Slowly, Tai Lung's eyes followed Tan Tao across the room, the golden orbs looking at the crime lord coldly as he thought of all this. In a sense, he seemed to understand what Tan Tao was aiming for. Tempting as the thought of being seen in a more positive light was, he knew somewhere deep inside his own criminal mind that there was still another way that the information could have been taken.

Thinking of this, the leopard then began to laugh. This confounded everybody in the room except for Miles, and all eyes were set on the kung fu warrior as he closed his eyes. Tan Tao simply raised an eyebrow in curiousity, waiting for a break in the laughter of Tai Lung to speak.

"What do you find odd about this proposal?" he asked pointedly. "I frankly find nothing wrong with it."

Tai Lung shook his head, his expression turning serious as he waved Cream's hands off of his shoulders. Complying, the rabbit let go of Tai Lung, Miles instantly by her side to make sure the guards would not take her when their guard was dropped.

"See, I also commited great crimes," said Tai Lung. "And that makes me smart enough to know that your deal is too good to be true."

Gesturing back to the kitsune, the leopard then leered at Tan Tao. "Your greatest mistake was leaving me alone. Because then I wouldn't have met Miles here." With this, Tai Lung nodded to his friend. "And I wouldn't have seen that there's more to life than trying to be the best. There are many other things. Especially friends. Miles pulled through for me where many, many others would not. He saw the good in me, and thus I stand by his side."

A sharp sound of something being drawn rang in the air, and then Miles and Cream both notice that Tai Lung's claws were unsheathed.

"And if it means I have to decline this proposal, then so be it."

Without any further warning, Tai Lung lunged forward, and before anybody knew what had happened three claw marks were visible on Tan Tao's face. They bled profusely as Tai Lung snarled at the crime lord. He got into a fighting stance, expecting Tan Tao to fight back.

However, the tiger simply laughed at Tai Lung. The laugh was slow, diabolical, almost pensive. This laugh confused Tai Lung, and he sheathed his claws as blood dripped from them. Miles and Cream also came close to Tai Lung, hoping that the guards would not come near if they chose to attack.

"What's so funny?" asked Miles, frowning.

Tan Tao looked at the kitsune. "He just made a big, big mistake," replied Tan Tao threateningly.

He looked to all of the guards and gestured to them. Instantly, they rushed away quickly.

"I'll let you go tonight," said the tiger with a sinister edge in his voice. "I hope you enjoy your last night of freedom!"

With this, Tan Tao seemed to vanish, leaping out of the window of the room as the guards followed suit. This of course left Tai Lung, Cream, and Miles all standing bewildered in the center of the room, the candle still burning brilliantly. The three exchanged glances at each other, all of them highly confused glances.

"What the hell was that all about?" asked Miles. "Why didn't he try killing us now?"

Tai Lung shook his head. "I really don't know," he said. "I would just end this here if I was him..."

"...Unless he has something else in store for us..." said Miles. "Let's get out of here, but also stay on guard."

Tai Lung nodded as Cream and Miles both got back onto Tai Lung's shoulders. "Well, let's get to Mei Ling's place, then."

And with this, Tai Lung rushed out of the doorway and ran out into the night, racing back to Mei Ling's home.

Slowly, Tai Xue came out from where she had stayed hidden in the stairwell. She had seen the entire argument. Seeing the two felines side by side seemed to stir some ancient emotion in her that she had not felt in a long time. Looking on, her initial suspicions had been confirmed.

Shaking her head, she moved to the candle in the room. "Poor fool," she said. "I must find this 'Mei Ling' before it is too late..."

With this, she gripped the candle and blew it out, the flame dying and submerging Tan Tao's harem in darkness once more.

* * *

Mei Ling, Crane, and Mantis all sat at the table, the mountain lion shifting her fingers around nervously.

"I hope they're okay," said Mantis. "I wouldn't want Cream to stay there forever."

"This is Tai Lung we're talking about here," replied Crane. "Wherever he and Tails are, it won't be too much for him to handle. I'm sure they're headed this way right now."

The three of them continued sitting in silence, waiting for some kind of sign of Tai Lung's return to the small house.

Finally, however, a shoe seemed to step into the house of Mei Ling, and then Miles appeared in the doorway, followed by Tai Lung and then Cream. Mei Ling smiled at this, looking over at the rabbit girl as Crane and Mantis both kept their gazes trained on her.

"Cream!" said Mantis, jumping up and onto the rabbit's shoulder. "You're okay!"

"Crane? Mantis?" she asked suddenly as Crane jumped out of the chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you," replied Crane good-naturedly. "We came here with Tai Lung after he had escaped from the rest of the Five. And, well, here we are."

Cream smiled softly. "Thanks, everybody," she said, noticing the mountain lion. "And... who is that lady?"

Mei Ling smiled as she stood up from the table. "I'm Mei Ling," she said, bowing down to Cream. "I'm a good friend of Crane's. You'll be staying with me, Tai Lung, and Miles for the night. I hope things went okay over there."

"They actually ended a little anticlimactically," replied Miles, his facial expression taking on a hint of nervousness. "Tai Lung literally slashed the crime lord in charge and that was it." He dared not mention how it had all seemed too easy to them to get Cream out of there.

"Wow, that's crazy..." said Mantis. "At any rate, you're safe now, so things should be okay.

The rabbit nodded at this, tugging at her dress slightly. "Crane, Mantis... Where are you guys going to sleep?"

"We have rooms at the Imperial Palace," replied the insect. "On that note, we should probably get back now. The sooner we can get back the better it is for our cover, anyway."

"We'll be back tomorrow, though," replied Crane. "Mostly to see you three out of Beijing and away from China. So we'll be back."

"Okay," said Cream. "I'll see you two tomorrow, then."

"Good night," said Crane as Mantis hopped onto the avian.

And with this, the bird walked out of Mei Ling's house, flying right back to the Imperial Palace as the group's vision lingered on the doorway. After standing still for a few seconds, Mei Ling shrugged.

"Okay," she said. "We should probably get some sleep."

"Can't say no to that," replied Tai Lung, stretching his arms out.

This said, the four of them went deeper into the house, heading for wherever the mountain lion had decided to put them for the night.

* * *

Crane and Mantis were woken up abruptly by a knock on their door the next day. Shaking his head awake, the kung fu master woke up in his bedding in the Imperial Palace.

"Yes?" asked the member of the Furious Five as Mantis woke up as well.

"The emperor has dire news for you," he said. "He requests your audience immediately!"

Upon hearing the emperor mentioned, Crane knew that something serious had happened. Darting up from the bed, he and Mantis both rushed for the door, opening it to look on one of the emperor's bull guards.

"Okay," said the insect. "Lead the way!"

"Follow me, then," said the bull, nodding in earnest as he looked at the two kung fu masters.

They followed the guard, Mantis and Crane both looking at each other with looks of apprehension written on their faces. They snapped out of this as they traversed the halls of the Imperial Palace, however, keeping stoic looks on their faces to avoid blowing their cover.

And when they got to the throne room, they saw the emperor sitting in his chair, looking very much displeased.

Next to him stood Wang Dun, his eyes alight in fury as he saw Crane and Mantis enter the room. His orange fur seems to truly stand on end as he glared at the two members of the Furious Five as only one side of his face showed.

"You wanted to--?" asked Mantis.

Before he could complete the sentence, Wang Dun butted in. "You said Tai Lung had been captured!" cried the predatory cat. "You said he was on his way here!"

"Peace, Wang Dun," stated the emperor calmly yet with enough strain in his voice to indicate that something was wrong.

At this, Crane and Mantis played dumb and looked back. "You mean, he's here in Beijing?" he asked.

"Yes!" cried Wang Dun, getting more furious by the second.

"Oh, dear..." said the insect. "I was sure the Dragon Warrior and the rest of the Furious Five had a good hold on Tai Lung when we left them..."

Crane rubbed his beak in thought. "Maybe that kitsune kid freed him, milord," pointed out Crane. "You never know."

"That might be very true indeed," said the emperor. "But this does not excuse the fact that he is still free, and he must be brought to justice."

"If you don't mind my asking, how can you be so sure about that?" asked Crane.

At this, Wang Dun came forward, revealing the other side of his face.

"Tell me where _these_ come from, then!" cried the advisor angrily.

Crane and Mantis both did a double take as they saw a few claw marks on the man's face. The claw marks had scabbed up, but the wound still looked very fresh as it contrasted brilliantly against the tiger's fur and eyes. This left the two warriors a little speechless, quickly trying to come up with a cover story.

"You mean he attacked you?" he asked.

"Yes!" replied Wang Dun. "He game me this mark as a warning! I command you to find him and bring him right here, now!"

"Yes, milord!" cried Mantis and Crane at exactly the same time, ditching their cover story as they both left the room very quickly.

As soon as they did, they gave each other a worried glance.

"Come on, let's go!" said Mantis.

Crane did not even bother taking the stairs; he flew out of the window and into Beijing, looking for Mei Ling's house as quickly as he could.


	18. Ultimatum: Chapter 10

Oh, shit.

What could that twist at the end of last chapter have meant? Other than more problems for our heroes, of course?

Lots and lots. I'll let you think about it for now, but let's keep the plot going. We've gotten our momentum, now let's carry it to the end of the chapter!

* * *

Ultimatum: Chapter 10

Mei Ling had just served breakfast to her three guests when a frantic knocking suddenly came at the door. Before anybody could even look up, Crane and Mantis appeared in the doorway, both flustered.

"Crane, what's the matter?" asked the rabbit.

"Tai Lung, did you and Miles go somewhere you didn't tell us about?" asked Mantis.

"No," replied the kitsune quite suddenly. "Why do you ask?"

Crane shook his head. "Wang Dun came to the palace today with claw marks on his face," said the avian quickly.

Cream visibly stiffened at this, Tai Lung raising a brow in curiousity. "Who, that petty advisor of that emperor?" he asked. "I would never think of doing such a thing."

"Well, I dunno how to explain why he was crying for your murder, then," replied Mantis. "I think you saw him."

"No matter what, though, this is bad," said Crane, shaking his head. "He knows you're here now and won't stop at anything."

Mei Ling shook her head as she looked on the breakfast she had just prepared. "Oh, dear..." she said. "We need to think of something. And fast."

"Wait a minute..." said Cream, finger resting at the edge of her lip. "Tan Tao gets claw marks on his face and leaves us alone after that... And then Wang Dun comes in with clawmarks on his face. Did you notice anything wierd about the cuts?"

There was a brief silence as both members of the Furious Five thought about this. "Now that you mention it, there was..." replied Mantis before Crane could speak. "I dunno how to describe it. It was like they were unnatural. The cuts weren't straight. It was like they had been..."

The insect's eyes went wide with shock as he suddenly realized what Cream was getting at. Curious, everybody looked at him with anticipation on their faces as Cream shook her head.

"No wonder he left us alone last night!" said Cream suddenly. "He had other plans!"

"Cream, what are you suggesting?" asked Miles uncertainly.

The rabbit shook her head. "Wang Dun and Tan Tao are one and the same," she said. "Think about it; we slash Tan Tao in the face, and similar marks appear on Wang Dun."

"But it doesn't account for the species difference!" replied Tai Lung suddenly. "They are... Wait. Oh no..."

Tai Lung shook his head. "I think we're dealing with a chi mage here..." he said.

"A chi mage?" asked Miles uncertainly. "What's that?"

Mei Ling looked over her shoulder. "You know what chi is?" she asked.

"No," the kitsune replied, shaking his head.

"Chi is the energy of the earth," she said, her arms crossed in front of her. "Some kung fu warriors can harness this chi to do things."

"Oh, so it's sort of like a wizard!" said Cream, pointing this out to Miles.

The fox shrugged. "Sounds like one," he said.

Crane shook his head. "This is very, very bad," he said. "We've gotta get out of here."

"What, under the cover of broad daylight with guards around the gate?" asked Tai Lung. "That's not going to happen!"

"But you could always pretend to take Cream and Miles hostage and we could get you out like that," suggested Mei Ling.

Tai Lung shook his head. "The guards would get me as soon as I got to the gate," he replied. "We need something more reliable."

At this, a knock suddenly sounded from the doorway into Mei Ling's house. Suddenly, everybody went stock still, listening closely to the silence. Without a word, Tai Lung grabbed Miles and Cream and darted into the dojo without so much as a second look back at the room he had just been in. Crane and Mantis followed after some extra beckoning by Mei Ling, the two of them going into the dojo after the snow leopard.

Rubbing her face with her hands, Mei Ling came forward, putting the best smile she could manage when she looked at the doorway. There, she saw a rather aged snow leopard standing with her hands in front of her like she was praying. The woman smiled when Mei Ling came into view, her eyes ligthing up in happiness.

"Oh, good morning," said Mei Ling with a polite bow. "How may I help you?"

"Are you Mei Ling?" asked the woman in a surprisingly resolute voice.

"Yes," replied the kung fu warrior with a smile. "What do you need?"

The elderly woman smiled, the small wrinkles on her face folding in reply. "I see..." she said. "So Cream made it safely here last night?"

Mei Ling's fur literally jumped to stand on end, her tail stiffening behind her. "Wha-- How did you--- wha...?" she asked futiley, unable to understand what the snow leopardess was saying.

"She is something of a friend of mine," said the woman as she entered. "I wish to help her escape from Beijing."

Mei Ling looked back to where her friends had been standing mere seconds before. Shrugging, the mountain lion stepped aside.

"Come in," said Mei Ling.

The snow leopardess stepped into Mei Ling's house, the younger female tracking her every move with light beige eyes. The older woman strode into where Cream had been moments before, looking into the dojo.

"Cream?" she asked, a strange kind of determination in her aged voice.

The rabbit then popped her head out from where she had been hiding by the doorway. When her eyes set on the woman, the rabbit jumped up, a smile splayed on her mouth.

"Tai Xue!" she proclaimed merrily.

"Oh, Cream!" said the motherly woman as Tai Lung, Miles, and the two members of the Furious Five came out of their hiding places. "You are all right after all."

"They did come for me last night!" said the rabbit as Miles came over to the doorway.

"I noticed," replied Tai Xue as the kitsune entered the room, recognizing the woman's face.

As Tai Lung entered, the kitsune eyed the woman. "You weren't asleep at all last night, were you?" he asked.

Tai Xue shook her head with a motherly smile on her face. "It is a secondary trait that some whores learn," replied the older woman. "We are able to fake our sleep at night. I saw everything from where I hid."

As Crane and Mantis entered the room, Miles gave her an uncertain glare. "Then who are you, and what's your relation to Cream?" he asked.

"I am Tai Xue," replied the snow leopard as she bowed gracefully. "Tan Tao's favorite whore, and a friend of Cream's."

Miles nodded, rubbing his chin as he thought.

"And what brings you here?" asked Crane.

"I've come to tell you that I can lead you to a secret passage out of Beijing," she said. Before anybody could interrupt, she continued. "Tan Tao built a secret passageway within one of the buildings he owns so that his scouts could get in and out of Beijing without being spotted by villagers. I am one of the few people he trusts with its secret. I can take you there so that you can escape and that Cream can escape her fate should Tan Tao attempt to find her."

All heads in the room nodded as Tai Lung looked around. "Okay, looks like we're going with the original plan then," he said, smirking deviously. "So I'll take you and Cream hostage, and then I'll go wherever you make me go..."

"Just a moment," said Tai Xue, approaching the male snow leopard slowly. "Let me see your face."

Before Tai Lung could refuse, he felt Tai Xue's hand touch his cheek. Sighing in defeat, he looked down, keeping his eyes open for the woman to look at. The older woman took a good look a Tai Lung's face, absorbing every feature in his face and smiling.

"It's been so long..." she said suddenly.

Baffled, the leopard raised an eyebrow. "But I only just met you," he pointed out.

"Thirty-six years, to be precise," continued Tai Xue softly. "That was the last I saw of you before I left you at the Jade Palace all those years ago... You look just like your father... You took after my species, though..."

All eyes in the room widened as the meaning of these words sunk in. Tai Lung simply blinked in shocked, his jaw hanging open.

"... Mother...?" he asked uncertainly. "You're my mother?"

Tai Xue nodded. "I wish I could have raised you by myself..." she said, regret coming prominently from her voice. "But I had no choice. Tan Tao would have killed you if he had found out I had given birth to you. I also did not want my son to grow up like him. So, I left you in a better place, where you could be loved by at least one person without any kind of anger..."

Tai Lung simply stood there, dazzled by this revelation. A full minute of silence passed, the younger snow leopard not sure what to make of this new revelation. Looking around at the ground in front of him, he tried forming words in his mouth, all of which died on his tongue very quickly. One predominating thought seemed to prevail, and then he tried to bring voice to this.

"Then who's my father?" he asked. "My _real_ father, before you ask."

Tai Xue looked at the ground guiltily as she thought about this. She looked back up after a brief pause, determination in her eyes as she looked Tai Lung in the eye.

"Tan Tao," she said simply.

In the shocked silence that followed, Tai Xue continued. "He loved me so much back then that he took too many concessions with me. He made me sell myself later than any of his other whores. He was at his most gentle when he was in bed with me. But he said he never wanted children. And I ended up bearing him two." She looked to Tai Lung. "You were the first to be born," she said sadly. "Tan Tao was on vacation at that time, so I was able to spend a week with you before I had to give you up. So I spent that week travelling to the Jade Palace. I had given you a name, and I wrote it on a card that I left in the basket I left you in. I looked at you right up to the moment the red panda who finally answered the door took you in as his son."

Tai Lung was still silent at this, but by now the shock had worn off, and he was left looking at Tai Xue wth an unreadable look on his face. He edged closer to his mother, surprised.

"I had always wondered..." he said. "I always wondered who my real parents were. Shifu... that was the panda's name... he told me I had been left at the doorstep. I always assumed I had been abandoned by my family. That they didn't want me. It had always made me a little bitter inside, to think that. But now..."

And then Tai Xue was suddenly surprised as she felt Tai Lung wrap his arms around her. A tear was seen in the male leopard's eye as he hugged his mother.

"I'm glad to know that at least you wanted the best for me," he said, trying not to cry. "Mother, even if I became one of China's most infamous criminals... I think you made the right choice. I would never have met Shifu or Miles or anybody else if it wasn't for you. And I wouldn't be one of China's best warriors, either. Thanks, mother. Just... I wish you could've found me sooner. Before I had gone on that rampage in the Valley of Peace..."

And here, the elderly cat's heart melted as she felt the embrace of her son. Slowly, they parted as Tai Lung thought about something else.

"And the second child?" he asked. "What happened to him?"

"Her," corrected Tai Xue. "I was not so lucky with her. I did not even get to name her; Tan Tao was returning from a drug settlement, and I had given birth to a daughter that day. I told the midwife to run away with the baby somewhere and give her up to someone. She came back a few days later and told me that she had left her at the Bao Gu orphanage. From what she told me, she took after her father's species, even if her fur was orange instead of white..."

At this, Crane and Mantis both gawked. "What the hell?" asked the insect. "Tigress and Tai Lung are siblings?"

"Tigress..." said Tai Xue. "That was the name they gave her?"

Nervously, Crane nodded. "Man, it feels so awkward to know that Tigress and Tai Lung are related by blood..."

"I can't say I blame you," said Miles uncertainly. "These past few minutes have been so surreal I barely believe any of it myself."

"Yeah," said Cream, clicking her heels together nervously. "Should we leave before the emperor gets suspicious?"

"Oh, yes!" said Tai Lung, suddenly grabbing Cream and Tai Xue in a fake choke hold with both of his arms.

Mei Ling smiled. "So I guess my original suggestion is valid."

"It is," replied Tai Lung. "Mother, I'll be looking around frantically when I try to escape. If I'm facing the right direction, tap my arm with your thumbs and I'll know to head that way. Mei Ling, Crane, Mantis, I want you to take Miles with you and chase me all the way to the passage to keep up appearances. Once we get out of Beijing, we should find the Dragon Warrior and the other three of the Five and tell them everything. Then we'll come back and take down Tan Tao's empire!"

"Okay, sounds like a plan," said Mei Ling. "What do we do then?"

"Well, we shouldn't take Tai Xue out at all," said Crane. "So Mei Ling, I hope you don't mind being left behind to look after her."

"Not at all," she said with a smile. "It would be my pleasure, actually. And once you come back, well, just bring me up to date and I'll try to help you take this Tan Tao guy down!"

"Okay," said Miles. "So we know what we need to do. Now let's go!"

Tai Lung nodded, and before anybody could say anything, he had jumped through Mei Ling's wall, Tai Xue and Cream in his hold as they assumed frightened faces.

When Tai Lung barged out, he found himself in the middle of a rather small crowd. As soon as he was out, however, the small crowd reeled back in terror, eyes on the snow leopard. Keeping up appearances, he began to look around the area, eyes scanning over the buildings for the way to the secret passage. He faced a direction slightly to the right from where he had gone the night before. When Tai Xue tapped her thumbs against his arm, he looked over.

However, it was at this point that Mei Ling jumped out of the house, attempting a palm strike that Tai Lung dodged. Playing along, Tai Lung sent a kick at the owner of the dojo, sending her towards the edge of the crowd. Before Crane or Mantis could run out of the house after him, he had jumped onto the rooftops and was making his way in the direction Tai Xue had indicated, jumping over the rooftops.

Not to be outdone, Crane flew after Tai Lung as Mantis jumped on the rooftops. Before Mei Ling could be left behind, Miles helped her up to her feet, and without even mentioning anything flew off after Tai Lung, a frown on his face as he dropped Mei Ling onto the roof.

The crowd that lingered there watched the group, whispering amongst themselves what they figured was happening as Tai Lung's figure disappeared into the distance.

* * *

A short time later, Tai Lung was still leaping over buildings when suddenly she felt Tai Xue's thumb press into him on the top of a particular rooftop.

"Get to the basement of this building," she whispered right as he paused to listen to her.

Nodding, Tai Lung looked down, jumping off of the top of the building onto a window a short distance down. Roughly, he thrust Cream and Tai Xue into the room so he could grab the windowsill with his hands. He saw Mei Ling jump down on a similarly elevated window across the street from him, and he knew that she had taken the hint. As the mountain lion jumped across the street to him, Tai Lung kicked her, then propelling himself into the room he had just been in as Mei Ling braced against the building she had been kicked into.

Grabbing Cream and Tai Xue as his feet landed on the door, he then barged straight through the door, the silk tearing as he worked his way down to the bottom of the building. He passed all manner of maids as he moved down the narrow hallway, and the clatter of porcelain breaking on the floor rung throughout as Tai Lung disappeared down a flight of steps. Without missing a beat, Mei Ling followed, with Mantis, Crane, and Miles all following very closely behind.

When Tai Lung reached the very bottom of the stairwell, he stopped as soon as he was out of sight of the staircase, going deeper into a very dark cavern lit only by a few candles. As soon as the four people chasing him had followed him in, they dropped their battle faces and smiled at Tai Lung.

"Well, there we go," said Mei Ling. "Now, where's the passage itself?"

Tai Xue pointed to where a couple of large candles were splayed prominently, revealing a large hole in the wall that led into a tunnel made of dirt. The group came forward, looking at the passage as they saw how dark it was in there.

"Simply follow the passageway to the end," she said. "It should take you right to the Devil's Mouth."

Cream nodded at this and turned to the older woman. "Thank you so much for everything," Cream said.

"It will always be my pleasure," replied Tai Xue gracefully. "Now go. Go before anybody sees you here!"

Without any further hesitation, Tai Lung grabbed one of the candles from the beginning of the passageway. Nodding to his companions, he, Miles, Cream, Mantis, and Crane all entered the passage, Mei Ling and Tai Xue looking on as the light of the candle rather quickly faded away the further the small group got into the passage. As soon as the candle completely went out, Mei Ling nodded to Tai Xue. Faking an injury, the whore balanced herself against the kung fu master, the two of them walking back to the stairwell in an attempt to get upstairs.

A full minute after everyone had left the building, however, a great light was seen in there, followed by the appearance of a tiger and a series of eleven scouts all dressed in colors of deepest night. Looking to where the candles were, the leader came to the other large candle, looking into the passageway.

"Damn it," said the voice of Tan Tao, angrily. "We're too late."

"But milord, it's not that big an issue, right?" asked one of the scouts. "I mean, this passage only goes one way, so if we follow it we should find them eventually. And they won't be too far for us to catch them, either."

The leader of this small group nodded.

"Should we go after the ones that went into the passage?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Tan Tao. "I want that rabbit brought to me alive. As for Tai Lung; bring him to the emperor when you capture him. If you kill him, I will kill you in turn. If there is anybody else with them, kill them. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" said the bird.

And with this, most of the eyes in the cave moved towards the secret passage, Tan Tao waiting for them all to disappear.

"And to think Tai Xue would be the one to betray me," he said shaking his head in disappointment. "I truly thought she cared for me..."

Here, the crime lord's expression softened. "I should punish her, but I can't bring myself to do it..." he said. "Even in old age she is still the loveliest blossom in all of China..."

Shaking his head and closing his eyes, he shook his head. "No," he said. "I won't punish her. Nor her friend. Even if her crime is great, I love her too much for that. I hope her friend considers herself lucky that I will be leaving them alone..."

And with this, a rather bright light shone in the basement for a split second before he disappeared.

* * *

Quite some time later, Tai Lung saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Also of note was that the air was beginning to get a little damp like it was in the Devil's Mouth. Smiling at this, Tai Lung looked ahead of him and walked a little faster. Seeing this, the rest of the group followed along as Tai Lung held the candle in his hands.

They then stepped out of the tunnel, finding themselves back in the familiar mist-covered woodlands of the Devil's Mouth. Smiling, Tai Lung looked around as Miles, Cream, Mantis, and Crane all came to stand by his side. Slowly, Tai Lung blew the candle out, the flame flickering before being blown out altogether.

"We're here," said Mantis.

"All right, good," said Cream, sighing in relief. "I'm just glad I won't have to go back to that place..."

Crane chuckled at this. "I know what you mean," said the avian. "I'd be scared in your position too."

Tai Lung shook his head, realizing the grim reality of the situation layed out before them. "We should find them before it's too late," he said quickly.

"Okay then," said Miles. "Let's go."

Tai Lung turned around briefly to discard the candle into the tunnel, and then the five of them moved quickly into the woods, searching for any trace of the Dragon Warrior and his friends.

They moved quickly throughout the Devil's mouth, shouting their heads off into the mist as they progressed. Crane was moving around quickly, attempting to scout the area around them as Tai Lung looked into the fog with his piercing eyes. However, their efforts were to no avail, and they had barely even found the Five when they took their break that day.

Shaking his head, Miles looked at the rest of his group as Crane came to land by where Cream stood.

"I don't know," he said. "What're we in such a big hurry for, anyway?"

"You tell me," replied Mantis as he rested on Tai Lung's head. "I guess we're just so eager to find them that... well..."

Cream shrugged. "Well, if the fact that we were shouting says anything, they're not anywhere near us..."

"And I haven't found anybody while flying around," added Crane. "Maybe they're just too far away from us."

"Ah, well, it's not like anybody's going to die later," shrugged Mantis insightfully. "We've got time."

And then, Cream suddenly remembered Shifu's words to her. Someone was going to die on the fourth day.

It had been four days since she had been told that. Thinking of this, she stood rigid as a plank. Miles noticed this, and then put an arm over Cream's shoulders.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Cream shook her head. "Shifu told me someone would die today," she said. "I don't know who, but this death would change a lot in China..."

Mantis shook his head, his pincers twitching slightly. "Let's hope it doesn't happen," he said.

At this, Tai Lung's ears perked up, and then he gestured for quiet as he listened in. A few seconds of near-silence followed, but when Miles heard the crunch of leaves under a foot, his fur stood on end.

"I think we were being followed," said Tai Lung nervously.

Almost as soon as the leopard had said this, a group of about eleven birds had jumped out from behind the trees. There was one goose and ten cranes, the leader being a crane with a rather prominent red mark on the top of his black clothing. They had restrained Miles and Cream almost immediately, but Tai Lung was ready for them.

He had leapt in the air to dodge the initial tackle, Mantis and Crane following suit to dodge the birds that were dressed in black. The first thing that came to Tai Lung's mind was to attempt a nerve touch on the slender birds. Thus, right when he landed, he swiped his hand out, hoping to hit the birds in the nerve points that would disable them.

However, the scouts were too nimble for that, and the one he had tried to attack dodged this. Another two scouts then grabbed Tai Lung's outstretched paw, and pulled forward so that he would run right into a tree. Reacting quicky, the cat did a front flip so that his feet were on the tree, and he jumped of, performing a jump kick at another black-suited lackey.

What they did next greatly surprised Tai Lung. Right when Crane and Mantis landed, the two masters of the Furious Five had jumped straight for the scouts. The scouts, instead of blocking with their fists, however, rose their hands. Suddenly, the leaves on the trees were roughly pulled off, and then to block the blows a shield made of leaves was created.

"Oh, mother of fortune," cursed Mantis under his breath as he jumped down.

Before Mantis knew what had happened, the scout in front of him suddenly sent his leaf shield wrapping around the insect, trapping him in a ball that continuously swirled around for a few seconds. When this ball was let loose, the wing of the scout suddenly darted out and caught the insect, who was nearly out of breath from the wild disorientation.

Crane was faring no better. He was still attacking the lackeys with Tai Lung's help, but no matter what the leaf shield seemed to defend them from everything. The scouts even manipulated the leaves so a few would fly out at the two kung fu fighters at random. Dodging was all Tai Lung or Crane could do against this.

And then, after a full minute of this kind of exchange, the chi mages had enough. They first sent a leaf string around Crane's legs, binding them together so that he could not kick. When this was done, three of the birds leapt onto the member of the Furious Five, trapping his wings from moving at all. They got a secure hold as Tai Lung tried to get in a few blows without the leaf shield guarding them. However, this proved futile when one of the scouts suddenly brought the leaf rope from Crane when he was finally held secure. The leaf rope was then wound tightly around Tai Lung by the goose, trapping his arms next to him as the wing motions came to a pause. Trying to move his arms, Tai Lung found himself unable to move.

It was such that the scouts had captured Tai Lung and all four of his friends.

With what could only be described as a sly smile, one of the scouts came over to Tai Lung. There was a sword strapped to his back, which everybody eyed nervously as the scout looked at the rest of the group.

"So I see you declined his proposal, then," he said.

"Sir, there are things I will do to get what I want," said Tai Lung assertively. "Betraying a friend is not one of them! You think my honor is gone?"

"Yeah!" said Miles as he struggled against the hold of the two birds by his side. "You should've gone with him when you first freed him!"

"Silence!" barked the bird. "I will not be told how to do my job by a freak!"

"Tails is not a freak!" cried Cream quickly to counter this. "He may have two tails, but I don't see him killing anybody because he wants to!"

Miles' frown simply hardened at this as the bird began to look at Crane and Mantis.

"And two of the Furious Five were involved in this too, eh?" he asked. "I never would have guessed."

"Fuck off, windbag!" cried Mantis angrily. "Cream was in trouble, and he volunteered to help us!"

The scout simply chuckled. "Now, now," he said. "There's no need to be so uncouth to your captors. Am I right?"

All of the other lackeys nodded their heads. At this, the scout closed his eyes and began walking around them.

"Now, Tan Tao gave me specific orders on what to do with all of you," began the small bird simply. "He said I was to take Cream and Tai Lung back, and to make sure they were alive. So you two are safe."

"But Tan Tao's gonna kill him anyway, so why wait?" pointed out the kitsune.

The scout shook his head, chuckling. "Tan Tao's orders are not to be disobeyed, for his wrath is great," he said. "Anyways, he gave us free reign to kill anybody else."

When the scout drew his sword from behind him, Cream tensed, sensing the time had come for the person to die. When he looked around, his eyes rested on the kitsune.

"I'll start with Tai Lung's friend here," he proclaimed. "Bring him forward!"

The two birds holding Miles came forward, a fear-stricken look suddenly taking the kitsune as he was roughly laid on the ground, hands and tails bound behind him by the two scouts as the head honcho walked over.

"I'll kill you first as a sign to whoever defies Tan Tao," said the scout. "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Miles shook his head, hot, angry tears spilling from his eyes. "Fuck you..." he said. "Fuck you, and fuck Tan Tao too!"

The scout shook his head. "Bad decision of last words," he said, holding the sword in his wings. "You will be dead tonight, I can tell you that much."

With this, Miles felt the cold steel of the blade touch the hairs on the back of his neck, the tears spilling out. He did not want to die. He had wanted to for the longest time, but ever since the epiphany had come from Oogway he knew he wanted to see his friends at least once more before his death. As Cream let out a shrill scream of fright, Miles screwed his eyes shut, waiting for the blade to come down and end his life.

He waited for nothing. For then, out of the trees a figure quickly came out. He managed to kick Tan Tao's scout hard, seperating the blades from the wing. The figure then jumped up, grabbed the blade, and then drove it into the ground with as much force as he could muster.

"He will _not_ be dead if I have anything to say for that!"

It had all gone by so quickly that when the voice of Shifu had rung out in the small clearing, Cream was shocked.

"Master Shifu!" she exclaimed suddenly, the red panda's gaze hard on the scouts detaining Cream, Miles, and his students.

The bird growled, bringing his wings into a fighting stance as Tai Lung struggled even more fervently against his bindings.

Without warning, the scout jumped at Shifu, the older kung fu master jumping up in reply. Before anybody could figure out what had happened, Shifu came soaring at the earth, a foot stretched out to hit the bird. This the avian blocked with great expertise. However, he was not lucky in blocking the blow to the face that the panda had prepared. Thus, Shifu managed to get the bird reeling back.

The red panda capitalized on this distraction with great speed; he then nerve-touched the scout holding Mantis so that the bird fell over limp. The insect simply breathed in and out as the panda then nerve touched the two birds holding Miles to the ground.

This was all the red panda was able to do before the scout came back at Shifu, trying to hit him over the head with a hand strike. Shifu blocked this, and then the two of them exchanged blows for quite some time as the other scouts simply held the other two prisoners there. Mantis pulled Miles over to the side, looking around and jumping at the other scouts holding his friends.

The two fights went on for quite a while, Shifu exchanging quick blows with the main scout. The kung fu fighters showed no signs of slowing down at all, even as Mantis engaged the one chi mage that was keeping Tai Lung tied with the leaf rope. The two fights went on simultaneously, with neither side really making significant errors.

However, after a fairly extensive period of time everyone seemed to notice that despite his agility Shifu was beginning to tire out. The blows that were being rained down on him seemed to be more lazily blocked by the red panda, and it seemed he was slowly losing the touch that had once made him so great.

Quite suddenly, the scout managed to land a blow to Shifu's stomach, sending the panda reeling back a little. The bird he was fighting then quickly jumped towards the kung fu master, however, and then Shifu felt himself get kicked into a tree. Without wasting any time, the bird lunged for the sword that was buried in the ground, pulling it out quickly as he watched Shifu bound back to him from where he had been hit against. A kick sent the bird flying back, but not far enough for him to be able to jump back at Shifu, the sword raised in the air.

In response to this, Shifu rolled to the side when the blade stabbed out in his direction, the blade barely grazing Shifu's fur as the keeper of the Jade Palace ducked to avoid the slash that came afterwards. The kung fu master then jumped at the scout.

The bird was quicker, however. In a move that caught many people off guard the bird grabbed Shifu's foot, flinging him back like a ragdoll before pinning him to a tree by the neck.

And just as Mantis had knocked out the chi mage keeping Tai Lung captive, the scout bird had twirled the blade in his wing once.

It was at this moment that Cream realized who Shifu was referring to!

"No! Master Shifu!"

But it was too late. For Shifu was then pinned against the tree, not by the wing of the head scout, but by the blade that was embedded in his body.

"Shifu!" cried Tai Lung, looking on in shock as the leaves fell from his arms and dropped harmlessly to the side.

But Shifu could scarcely speak, as the wound had penetrated him such that he was only able to get out a groan, the pain in his eyes apparent.

Seeing this sight as the blade was removed and Shifu fell to the ground stirred something in Tai Lung. It stirred a feeling of most righteous rage as he glared at the head scout. His nostrils began flaring as he breathed in and out harshly, Miles able to tell what was going to happen next.

Without warning, the head of Tan Tao's men was suddenly picked up by Tai Lung. The bird was wrung by the neck by the leopard's paws as he was then sent against the tree.

"You... you...!" said Tai Lung, unable to form an insult.

The leopard then proceeded to punch the poor scout over and over again, screaming in rage as he did. The other scouts dared not move as they saw this brutal beating of their leader. The beating came to the point that Tai Lung was punching him so fast blood was beginning to fly every which way from the head of the scout. Seeing this, the birds holding Cream suddenly let the kitsune go, and they stumbled backwards in sheer fright.

After half a minute, Tai Lung grabbed the bird, throwing him into the center of the clearing, mangled face showing to everybody there. The avian was dead, if the fact that he was unmoving a few seconds after he hit the ground had anything to say. All of the other scouts gulped in fright, and without Tai Lung even having to say anything they all dropped whatever remaining prisoners there were in their grasp and ran away. Tai Lung looked at the nerve touched geese, and snarling he picked them up and chucked them at the retreating scouts.

"And take your friends with you, too!" cried the snow leopard, shaking his head in anger.

Tai Lung stood for a very brief period of time, breathing in and out very harshly.

"M... Master Shifu..."

Cream's voice broke the snow leopard's fury, and then he turned to look at them. The sight of Cream kneeling next to his old master was enough to cause Tai Lung's rage to disappear.

"It..." said Cream, choking on tears. "It was your own death you had seen coming, wasn't it?"

Shifu nodded. "It was..." he said.

The rabbit shook her head, not bothering to ask why she hid it. Crane and Mantis were by Shifu's side in an instant, however.

"But... but Master Shifu... you can't die..." said Mantis, standing by the red panda's ear as Miles grabbed his pack and began looking through it to find the bandages.

"Our time must come eventually, Mantis..." replied Shifu, looking to his two students.

"But... but it didn't have to come so soon!" replied Crane, sniffling as he spoke.

Miles came forward with the bandages, quickly examining Shifu to see what could be done. However, after a few seconds, he shook his head.

"Damn it," said the kitsune. "He's losing too much blood too quickly."

"So...?" asked Mantis.

Miles shook his head, frowning and letting out a yell of rage as he threw the roll of bandages to the side. Shaking his head, he turned to the rest of his friends.

"I'm sorry," he said. "At this stage, there's nothing I can do to save him."

The words seemed to sting something in everybody that was in the vicinity. Shifu simply smiled softly.

"Then destiny has run its course, exactly as I saw it..." he said. "I leave the rest... to you."

Tai Lung looked at Shifu, his eyes registering some kind of faint shock.

It was then that the leopard came towards the red panda. Sensing his distress, everybody else walked away from the dying kung fu master. The leopard's eyes registered a strange kind of sadness that Shifu had not seen in Tai Lung in a long time.

"Shifu..." Tai Lung said quickly, kneeling down to where the red panda's body had been discarded by Tan Tao's men.

"T... Tai Lung..." said the kung fu master slowly, his breath ragged as he held the gaping hole in his body. "You... I didn't... think... there was still..."

The snow leopard shook his head, closing his eyes as tears threatened to overflow. "Shifu... Father..." he said, his voice cracking as he held back the tears he desperately did not want to cry. "Forgive me... I... I..." The cat sniffled as he took Shifu's tiny hand in his own. "I shouldn't have done what I did all those years ago... I'm sorry, Shifu... I'm a failure as a son... I did all I ever did... to make you proud... I should've realized... that... that... what I did... it would've made you angry... I... I'm... I'm so sorry..." Tai Lung could scarcely continue as a solitary tear fell down his cheek. He sniffled again, and was rendered speechless as he simply held his father's hand against his nose.

Shifu was stunned for a few seconds, not expecting Tai Lung to say something like this. But then, he smiled, slowly, the smile of a man at peace.

"T...Tai Lung..." said Shifu weakly. "You... You're not... a failure... as a son..." Hearing this, the cat looked down on Shifu, eyes shining brightly with tears he was failing at holding back. "What... what you just... s-said... That... That is more... than what I could... ask for... as a father... You... You've made me... proud... saving... Cream... from her... fate... Tai Lung... I'm... I'm sorry... for not... giving... you a second... chance..."

Tai Lung shook his head as Shifu looked up. The cat sniffled again as he felt almost all of his strength leave him. This could not be happening. It was not happening. And yet, he was holding the small hand of his adoptive father as he lay bleeding to death with a gaping wound from a sword. This revelation was very powerful and very upsetting for the mighty snow leopard.

"Father..." said Tai Lung softly.

"Tai Lung..." said Shifu, his breath coming more and more slowly by the second. "I... I forgive you..."

The snow leopard had taken enough. Without any further hesitation, the tears he had been holding back came flowing freely down his cheeks, Tai Lung closing his eyes and whimpering loudly as he cried over his dying master.

"Father..." he said, choking on his words. "I love you... I'm so sorry..."

Shifu smiled one last time. "I love you... too... my son..." he said softly as he felt the last of his energy expend itself.

The snow leopard was crying so hard he barely noticed when the red panda's breathing had slowed to a complete stop. But when he did, he paused briefly in his sobbing to look upon the peaceful body of his master. The way his eyes were closed, the smile that curved on his mouth, the way the hand that wasn't being held by him stood completely motionless by his side.

But perhaps the thing that wormed its way into Tai Lung's heart was not the way Shifu looked in his final seconds, but by what he did. He had thought himself beyond redemption. Beyond hope. Unsaveable. And yet, Shifu had found it in his heart to forgive his adopted son. This was the most shocking thing about Shifu's death; that somehow, in his final moments, he had seen it fit to forgive someone who thought he was above redemption... above forgiveness... above the love a father could give to a son.

It was too much for even Tai Lung to take.

"N... no..." he muttered.

Shaking his head and gathering Shifu in his arms, Tai Lung only cried harder, the tears streaming down his face freely now. For a brief second, he threw his head back, eyes wide open and staring at the blaring sun above him.

"_Shiiiifuuuuuu!_" Tai Lung cried out into the heavens, his voice projecting out across the landscape.

He collapsed into himself very soon after, weeping profusely as he cradled the dead body of Xang Li Shifu in his arms. Mantis, Cream, Crane, and Miles all stayed to the side, Cream and Mantis both in tears as Miles looked on, Crane giving a very disturbed and troubled glance at Shifu's body before patting Cream's back.

The kitsune simply walked forward, wrapping his arms around Tai Lung's body as the cat sobbed over the death of his father and his master. Without much protest, Tai Lung kept one arm under Shifu's body and pulled Miles in close with his free arm, crying into the kitsune's forehead as he kept Shifu as close as he could to him. Miles simply sat there, letting the tears soak into his fur as he simply patted Tai Lung's back comfortingly.


	19. Chapter 11

Okay, so last time more shit hit the fan.

Thankfully, all that's left in this fic is to clean up the blades of the damage caused by everybody else. So let's get going with that.

* * *

Chapter 11

"_Shiiiifuuuu!_"

The shout rang out throughout the Devil's Mouth such that Tigress did not need to explain what she heard to her three companions.

"What the hell?" asked Po as he pointed in the direction he heard the scream coming from. "Was that...?"

"Tai Lung..." said Viper, shaking her head.

"That can't be good..." stated Monkey simply.

Po shook is head. "I hope they're not fighting again!" he exclaimed.

Tigress shook her head, glaring ahead of her. "It didn't sound like a battle cry," she said. "Something else happened. Come on!"

And the four of them bolted off into the woods quickly after this was said, nervous to see what had happened to their kung fu master.

About five minutes had passed when Po finally got to the edge of clearing. The scene before them was a little scattered; Cream was hugging Crane, sobbing into the avian's neck as he patted her back, his own eyes closed. Mantis stood on Cream's head, looking at where Tai Lung was situated as he wiped a tear from his eyes.

But it was the sight of Tai Lung that really unnerved the panda more than anything. He was sobbing profusely into the forehead of the two-tailed fox that Po had encountered in the plains, his arm cradling Shifu close by his body.

Po was cautious as he entered the clearing, not saying a whole lot as Tigress, Viper, and Monkey all followed his lead. The panda walked over to Tai Lung, the snow leopard still not seeming to notice the panda's presence there.

It was not until the panda had knelt down next to Tai Lung that the leopard noticed Po's presence there. Looking up, he could barely look at the bear before shaking his head. Unwrapping his arm from around Miles' body, he gestured to the gaping sword wound in Shifu's corpse. Po's eyes widened at this, emeralds glinting in shock.

"There was nothing I could've done..." said Tai Lung, choking on his own tears as they continued to flow down his face. "I'm so sorry..."

This comment got the attention of the other three then-oblivious mourners in the clearing, Mantis and Crane both looking at Tigress as the predatory cat beheld the sight of Shifu in Tai Lung's arm.

Po shook his head, tears threatening to spill out of his own eyes. "How...?" he asked. "How could this have happened?"

Tai Lung shook his head as the panda looked at him. "He was trying to save us..." said the leopard. "We had been... captured... by a bunch of scouts. They had a chi mage with them... And then... This happened..."

The recollection was a little too much for the leopard, who shook his head as Viper slithered up Po's shoulder. "He forgave me for my sins..." he said, shaking his head still. "It... It hurts me that much more... I wish... I wish he were still..."

Po laid a hand on Tai Lung's shoulder reassuringly. Opening his eyes, the leopard noticed a tear sliding down Po's cheek as well.

"So do I, Tai Lung," replied the panda mournfully, his voice on the verge of cracking as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "So do I."

And the small group sat in the clearing, unmoving for quite some time as they thought of the events that had just occurred as Po and Tai Lung both grieved the death of their beloved kung fu master, a mutual reassurance hanging in the air around them. Tigress, Viper, and Monkey all looked on, the three of them tearing up at the sight of their master with his eyes closed and completely unmoving. Nobody said anything for a great while as Tai Lung simply held his dead master in his arms, cradling him like a newborn baby.

* * *

Nearly three hours later, the group had spent all of their tears. Tai Lung and Miles had told Po and the other three members of the Five what had happened in Beijing leading right up to Shifu's death, and this news was met with various nods from the grief-stricken four. Tai Lung had decided not to impart the information that Tai Xue had told him about the midwife leaving Tigress at the Bao Gu orphanage, however, deciding it was better to wait until the worst had blown over or until Tai Xue could tell Tigress herself. Thankfully, Cream, Miles, Mantis, and Crane all caught what the leopard was aiming for and decided it would be best not to say anything about the ommited information.

After they had told their story, everybody decided it was for the best that Shifu be buried soon. Miles had just patted the mound of earth around which a cross made of twigs and twine had been stuck in. Looking at his handiwork, the kitsune nodded solemnly as everybody eyed the mound of earth in which they had buried Shifu's body. Written into the dirt in small letters was Shifu's name, the words _'lux perpetua luceateis' _scribbled into the earth underneath this. Miles had made sure that the words would not be washed away by rain; he had covered the words with a spare piece of cyran wrap that he had in his pack. Seeing his handiwork, the kitsune stood up, holding his vest as he looked down at the makeshift grave.

For a full five minutes, the entire group stood there in silence, heads bowed solemnly as they grieved the death of Xang Li Shifu. It was a profound silence, the mist still at a constant grey as they looked on, eyes closed in sadness of the passing of one of kung fu's greatest masters.

It was when Tai Lung opened his eyes that he noticed that the entire time, there was a lotus blossom growing at the roots of one of the trees. Looking at it with saddened eyes, he bent down and picked the blossom lightly. The orange pedals seemed to dance in front of his eyes, vision blurred slightly by the tears he had cried as he looked.

Slowly, he came to Shifu's grave. He knelt down, holding the lotus blossom delicately in his index finger and his thumb. Slowly, he brought his hand out, letting the blossom fall to the ground just where the cross was embedded into the earth. He knelt at the earth for a while, looking at the flower as it rested against the sign he barely knew anything about.

Finally, he stood back up, Miles standing by his side the entire time as the snow leopard looked down.

The silent vigil continued thusly, all eyes on the cross as everybody silently prayed for Shifu.

* * *

Quite some time had passed after the informal funeral service for Shifu. The group was now in a circle around the plot of land Shifu had been buried in, all of them seated there. Tai Lung was looking quite glum, eyes looking ahead of him as Miles left a hand on his shoulder.

"We need to go back to Beijing," said the leopard. "We need to bring Tan Tao to justice for all he's done."

Heads nodded everywhere, everybody deep in thought.

"But we need some kind of plan," pointed out Tigress. "Unless you had any ideas, of course..."

The entire group shrugged at this, thinking.

"Well, first things first, we need to alert the emperor about our plans and to tell him to keep his wits about him," said Miles plaintively. "I remember when we ran into Tan Tao last night that he wanted to spread anarchy."

"And why would that be important?" asked Viper.

"Think about it," said Miles, shrugging. "He wants to spread total chaos throughout China. It would be any ruler's worst nightmare to have a kingdom in chaos. So naturally he'd devote all his resources to quelling that."

"And then it would be a perfect distraction..." continued Po, catching on to what the kitsune's train of thought was.

"A distraction for an assassination..." finished Tigress, completing the chain of thought that was becoming apparent.

The kitsune nodded. "And then Wang Dun would come in as a sort of white horse to restore order to the nation," he said. "And since Tan Tao and Wang Dun are the same person, then that would mean that Tan Tao would become emperor of China."

"But what about the rest of the imperial family?" pointed out Mantis.

"Knowing what he's done, I wouldn't put it past Tan Tao to kill them too," replied Miles. "So we have to return and warn the emperor before something bad happens."

"And in private, too," added Cream suddenly. "We can't risk Wang Dun knowing what our plans are, or else you'll be considered traitors and I'll be sent back to the harem."

"Mei Ling also said she would help," added Crane. "She's currently keeping Tai Xue safe, so I'm sure she won't mind keeping Cream or Miles in her house until we needed them in the palace."

Tigress nodded at this information. "So we have all that to work with," she said. "Hm..."

"I wonder..." said Po. "Wang Dun has to change into his Tan Tao form somehow... I wonder what would happen if we caught him in that state... and then could show the emperor..."

Mantis looked at Po with half-shut eyes. "If you're thinking about making the emperor hide in Wang Dun's quarters, that'll just kill him faster."

Tai Lung looked over to Miles. "Maybe something else may be in order then," he said. "What if-- and I know this sounds crazy, but hear me out-- what if, we had something that could catch him in the act without us having to be in there?"

Po rubbed his chin. "That sounds like a good idea," he said. "But there's one problem..."

"What could we use to do that, anyway?" asked Tigress, rubbing her chin.

"This!"

All eyes turned to Miles, who was holding the camcorder. Since he had used it as a sound shield, he had patched the thing back up, and now it looked like its former sleek self again. Looking at this, Cream smiled.

"The perfect thing!" she said. "Although, why'd you bring it?"

"Gut feeling told me I might need it eventualy," replied the kitsune. "Looks like my gut feeling was right."

"What is that?" asked Viper, Po and the Furious Five leaning in to look at the object.

Miles chuckled at this. "It's a video recorder," he said. "It captures pictures of what a person did, complete with sound. And then we can play it back any time at all!"

"He recorded a kung-fu routine I did," testified Tai Lung. "I think we have the perfect thing with which to catch him. All we need to do is conceal it well and we should be good."

"So we just stick this thing somewhere and let it run?" asked Tigress. "Sounds reasonable, but how do we know when to start playing it?"

"I could figure something out," replied the kitsune. "Give me a day. Once I get into Mei Ling's place, I'll put something together. Send Crane over whenever that passes and I'll update him on what the plan is."

They nodded, and then the conversation continued, a plan slowly unfolding as they discussed possible options. And then, when they had finally decided on a course of action, the group left the clearing. Tai Lung lingered behind, trying to get a last glance at Shifu's grave before they continued on in the Devil's Mouth.


	20. Chapter 12

Okay, so last time, a plan was formed.

But what is this plan? You'll have to see that later, my dears. You'll see it unfold, however.

So until then? Let's get going!

* * *

Chapter 12

Tai Lung had resented having ropes around his wrists again, but he knew it was something that had to be done. Looking at the Dragon Warrior as they moved along in the mist, he nodded.

"Well, we're getting awfully close to Beijing," said Po as the Furious Five flanked around them. "Are you sure you'll be fine like this?"

"It'll have to be done," said Tai Lung, nodding. "I wonder when the emperor is going to try to execute me..."

"We'll see," said Tigress as she saw bits of the Grand Gate of Beijing in front of her in the mist. "Let's move."

"Operation Tao's Doom, entering Phase 2!" chimed Mantis playfully as he jumped onto Crane's head. "Move out!"

And so the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior came to the gates of Beijing. The guards working in the gate looked down at the party of six with perplexed expressions on their eyes.

As they neared the gates, a rather tall rhinoceros came up to the group, eyeing everyone. "What business do you have, Dragon Warrior?" asked the guard at length.

"Sir," replied Po, bowing respectfully. "We have captured Tai Lung and request an audience with Emperor Kublai Khan. Immediately."

The rhinoceros stood proud, looking down at the six kung fu masters. "Very well," he said, turning around. "Messenger! Tell the palace that the Dragon Warrior is here with China's most wanted man!"

There was a faint 'yes, sir' from somewhere high up on the tall gate. The doors then opened very slowly. Po turned to the rest of the Furious Five, all of them winking at each other as they saw the gates open.

"Phase 2 is underway," whispered Mantis, which earned a chuckle from Crane.

Keeping in character, Tai Lung growled slightly at this, the six of them continuing on as Tai Lung's glare intensified.

* * *

When Po and the Furious Five had entered the emperor's throne room with Tai Lung in tow, the Dragon Warrior was quick to notice that Wang Dun was looking at Tai Lung deliriously. Ignoring this and making a mental note to make sure Wang Dun did not supervise Tai Lung's days in his cell, he turned his attention to the emperor and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome, Dragon Warrior," said the bull calmly. "I see you have captured Tai Lung again."

"Yes, sir," replied Po. "His... friend had freed him when we sent Crane and Mantis to inform you. Our apologies for this."

"It is no problem at all," replied the emperor, standing up and looking at Tai Lung.

"But, milord, Tai Lung slashed me in the face!" pointed out Wang Dun fretfully. "That does not worry you?"

"If you had died, that would have worried me much more," replied the ruler of China. "As it is, you are in no truly serious condition and are still able to stand by my side. Therefore, I have very little cause to worry."

The male tiger was silent at this. Bowing politely, he kept his mouth shut, keeping his gaze fixed on Tai Lung.

"Yeah," said Mantis, shrugging. "So, milord, what do you think will happen now that all this has gone by?"

The bull put his hands behind his back as he stood, grand robe flowing onto the floor as he walked away from the throne. "An execution is surely in order," replied the emperor. "I will not need a trial to know that he has commited many grave sins over the course of his life."

"So if you don't mind us asking, milord, when will this happen?" asked Po, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Four days," said the ruler. "An exact period of ninety-six hours that begins when he is taken to his cell."

Everybody that was not the emperor or Wang Dun were very relieved by this. They had enough time to prove that something infinitely more dangerous was in store for the emperor than Tai Lung.

However, Wang Dun made his distress apparent.

"Four days, milord?" he asked loudly. "But this could be--!"

"Silence!" cried the emperor, his voice very intimidating and quite irritated. "I have taken your personal raving against Tai Lung for long enough! If you demand Tai Lung's death faster than what I deem correct, I will ask you to leave the court for the rest of the day!"

With this firm declaration, Wang Dun bowed his head in shame. The seven kung fu warriors had to fight the urge to giggle at how helpless the tiger looked in this state, but the message was still clear.

"I see..." said the Dragon Warrior. "I shall ask that you have one of us guard him in his final days. He did master all one-thousand scrolls, and he did escape from Chor Gom twice..."

"Indeed," said the emperor, nodding at this as Tigress noticed Wang Dun getting more and more agitated by the second. "It sounds like a very wise course of action. Very well, then. The six of you shall alternate guarding his cell, with a pair of guards to assist you should you run into any problems."

"Thank you," said the Dragon Warrior before Wang Dun could say anything to stop this. "I would also like to talk with you in private with the Furious Five after this meeting."

The emperor nodded at this. "Very well, then," replied Kublai Khan stoically. "I will stay behind with you five after this meeting is over."

The six warriors nodded as Tai Lung looked down at the ground. The emperor then turned to the guards, nodding to the rhinos that stood there. "Guards," said Kublai Khan. "Take Tai Lung down to the dungeons. Master Monkey, I shall ask you to accompany them down."

"Yes, milord," replied the simian as the rhinos came forward and grabbed Tai Lung's bound arms. Slowly, the four left the room, leaving Po, Tigress, Viper, Crane, and Mantis all looking at the emperor. Slowly, the ruler of China turned to Wang Dun, who had regained his composure.

"And you should tend to meeting with the messenger from Hunan," he said commandingly. "Tell him I apologize for not being present to hear him speak."

Wang Dun nodded and quickly filed out of the room. Turning to Po and the Furious Five, the emperor nodded.

"So what would the purpose of such a private meeting be?" asked the emperor.

Po looked around, noticing that the guards had left with Tai Lung. Looking back at Kublai Khan, he dropped his business-like demeanor. "I don't think Tai Lung is the greatest threat to China's safety right now," he said, not bothering to beat around the bush. "Actually, if his recent conduct says anything, I'd say he's not trying to harm China right now.

At this, the emperor raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?" asked the bull.

"It was something we noticed while we were here," said Mantis quickly. "Tell us, milord; does the name 'Tan Tao' sound familiar at all?"

The expression on Kublai Khan's face could only be described as being highly perturbed. Despite this, he kept his posture, and looked down at the group. "Tan Tao, you say?" asked the bull. "He was Wang Dun's half-brother."

Eyebrows raised at this, but before they could voice any of their concerns the emperor continued talking. "He disappeared eleven years ago, however," he said stoically. "It was very strange. I had sent the both of them on a diplomatic mission to the outside world, and then Tan Tao simply disappeared off the face of the earth. The mission was not successful, but I know Wang Dun came back all right." The bull shook his head. "He said that Tan Tao had drowned in the ocean after he had been thrown overboard... It was a tragic night for all of us when we found out."

All five kung fu warriors gave each other confused glances.

"That's really odd," said Crane quickly. "Because I know that Tai Lung had an encounter with someone by that name earlier. He was a tiger with white fur, apparently."

At his, the emperor gave a rare look of shock. "Were you working with him behind my back?" asked the emperor quickly.

The question itself caught everybody off guard. Crane and Mantis were both surprised at this, but they knew they could not deny the truth.

"Yes, but hear us out milord," replied Tigress quickly. "Do not brand us traitors yet."

The bull exhaled loudly through his nose, clearly not pleased with what had just been admitted. However, he brought his hands forward into a praying gesture.

"Speak," he said. "If I do not like what I hear, I will send you down to the cells with that monster!"

Mantis winced at this, pincers rising as he heard the venom in Kublai Khan's voice. Tigress, however, was not so shocked, so she continued.

"When we had captured Tai Lung, I had noticed something moving in the fog," she said. "It was headed straight for Beijing; I also sent Crane and Mantis forward with the hopes that they could investigate what it was about."

"And we ran into Tai Lung and his fox friend on our way here," continued Crane. "Tai Lung had seen it too. You know Cream? That rabbit girl you met at the Jade Palace a week ago?"

The emperor's eyes seemed to soften quickly. "I do," he said. "What does this have to do with your story?"

"You'll see in a second," replied Mantis. "Anyways, we decided to investigate together. So I hid Tai Lung and Miles-- that's the fox's name-- in a friend's house while we were attending to everything else. And when we were visiting you, they were going through the city in search of Cream. And sure enough, they found her in the slums of Beijing."

The bull raised an eyebrow at this revelation, genuinely surprised. "I see..." he said. "What had happened to her?"

"She had been forced into prostitution!" exclaimed Crane. "And the name of the crime lord who was forcing her to sell herself was named Tan Tao!"

In a rare display of shock, the emperor's crimson eyes fixed themselves on the avian's figure, his normally proud figure bending over sharply. "What?" he asked.

"That's not all," continued Crane. "Tai Lung had rescued Cream from her fate with Miles' help that night. That night, Tai Lung had scratched Tan Tao in the face defending Cream and Miles from his wrath. After that, he took off."

Mantis looked to where Wang Dun had walked out of the room. "Those same cuts appeared in distorted form on Wang Dun's face the next morning," he said. "And that was when he was screaming for Tai Lung's bloody death."

The bull was quite shocked to hear this. "Are you saying that not only is Tan Tao alive, but he is also pretending to be Wang Dun?"

"Yes," replied Mantis. "And yes, I know they were two different tigers. Tai Lung said something about that too when this idea was first brought up. But even if he's not impersonating your advisor, the fact is he's still alive, and I think he's after your throne. Not only that, but he was the one who helped free Tai Lung from Chor Gom. He was trying to get Tai Lung to spread anarchy through China."

"And then he met Miles," added Crane. "That is the only reason Tai Lung has not joined him yet. It's also the reason he did not lash out at us just now."

"Please, milord," said Mantis, almost pleadingly. "You have to trust us. We're still working with him. But we've got a plan to take down Tan Tao's criminal empire, and Tai Lung is trying to help us with this as well. We only ask your undying trust for this, and that you tell _nobody_ that we're doing this."

The emperor stood silently at this revelation, mulling the thoughts over with a shocked expression. Finally, he blinked and stood again, assuming his strict posture again as he looked down.

"You say this, Miles, and Cream were with you," he said. "Where are they now?"

"They're with my friend, milord," replied Crane. "If you want to, I can bring you to them tomorrow."

"Very well, then," said Kublai Khan with a nod. "I shall trust you for now. But if I see something odd tomorrow, then I am throwing you in the dungeon next to Tai Lung!"

"Yes, milord," replied everybody else with respectful bows.

"Thank you for this chance, milord," said Po. "I promise you will not regret this."

"I hope so too," replied the emperor.

And with this, the meeting officially ended, Po and the four members of the Five nodding as the emperor left the room, his gait quite solemn.

"Phase 2 complete," said Mantis with a grin on his face. "Phase 3 will begin shortly."

"With slight modifications," added Po, keeping with Mantis' sort of running joke.

* * *

Miles sat at a table Mei Ling had prepared, working with a small device as a candle burned by his side. He was hard at work, so Cream had seen it best not to disturb the kitsune as he rewired the camera into a small device he had somehow created. Thus, Cream sat with Mei Ling and Tai Xue at the kitchen.

"So, when does he say we'll be able to test it out?" asked the oldest woman in the bunch.

"Morning," he says. "He's thinking of surprising Crane with it when he comes over."

Mei Ling giggled at this prospect. "I can imagine the shock on his face when he sees himself talking."

"We'll see," said Cream, shrugging. "I still can't believe Mantis managed to get us in here in the dead of night without any of Tan Tao's partners noticing..."

"Neither can I," replied Mei Ling wih a nod. "All the better for us, I suppose."

"Yeah," said Cream. "Now let's hope everything goes well on Po's and Tai Lung's side of things..."

With this, they continued to watch Miles hunched over the table, doing what he claimed he was best at.


	21. Chapter 13

Oh, boy. This is really surreal. Not only are these guys coming up with a master plan, but I am too.

Why? There's a Youtube user that is the worst flamer ever, and he got into a flame war with me. This happened a month ago. So he gave me a call to step it up yesterday because the 'Youtube death squad' (I'm not even kidding, those were his exact words) hadn't taken his account down.

I'm stepping up, and in ways he may not realize. He wanted me to step it up, I'll step it up, all right. I trust you all to know what Al Pacino said at the end of Scarface...

I'll leave it at that for now. Let's move on to other things!

* * *

Chapter 13

"Po, I want you to watch over Tai Lung while I am gone."

"Yes, milord."

"Good. If any of the rest of you run into Wang Dun and he asks where I am, tell him I am extremely busy and must not be bothered."

"Yes, milord."

Kublai Khan nodded his head. "I thank you for your understanding," he said stoically. "Master Crane, I shall ask you to lead the way now."

"All right, milord," said the bird.

And with this, Po and the four members of the Furious Five that were not Crane filed back into the palace, to pretend as if this early morning encounter had never happened. The emperor himself was dressed in commoner's robes, his majestic black fur somewhat rumpled to keep up appearances and make sure the people of China did not know the emperor was with them. For he knew that if the townspeople knew, then Tan Tao would probably catch wind of it.

He was unsure of Mantis and Crane's conspiracy theories, but he decided to err on the side of caution just in case it did turn out to be true.

Nodding to Crane, the emperor began to move. The kung fu warrior was quick to lead the emperor in the direction of Mei Ling's house, the two of them getting out of the Imperial grounds just before sunrise.

* * *

Miles positioned the camera on the table and turned it on.

"There," he said. "Now let's get out of the room and see if this thing works."

"Okay," said Cream.

The two of them exited the room into the kitchen, Mei Ling and Tai Xue looking over the two of them suspiciously.

"Are you sure it's going to work?" she asked.

"It has to," replied Cream. "Miles is a genius!"

Tai Xue nodded. "I trust your judgement on this," she said. "I hope my son is all right."

"Trust me, Tai Xue, he should be fine," replied Miles with a wink. "We'll see when Crane comes in to give his progress report, but I still think they got him in."

"Besides, we all know Tan Tao will try to break him out whether it's against his will or not," replied Miles. "If that happens, then the Furious Five will try to flee with Tai Lung. And then we'll be left to prove Tai Lung's innosence. Not like I have a plan to do that, but we'll think about it when the time comes."

Tai Xue nodded. "I do hope things do not have to get to this point," she said. "Seeing so many women being tortured by the same man... After a while, it had disgusted me..."

"Yeah," replied Cream. "You had to spend thirty-seven years of watching him cycle though many different whores..."

"Their fates were horrible," replied Tai Xue. "Many did not live to see their twentieth year..." She shook her head sadly, her eyes shut. "I used to love him. I truly did. But the man I thought I loved is not the man who loves me..."

At this, a knock sounded from the doorway into Mei Ling's abode. Looking at Mei Ling, Miles winked.

"All right," he said. "Let's see what this thing is made of!"

Mei Ling nodded and entered the room that led out of the house. She went straight to the doorway and was very utterly shocked when she found a large bull standing in front of her in addition to her friend.

"Oh, Crane!" he said. "I didn't think you'd be bringing someone from the palace in!"

"Don't ask," said Crane as he stepped into the room. "The emperor got a bit skeptical."

"Hence, why I am here," said the bull slowly as he looked a Mei Ling.

At this sentence, the mountain lion's eyes widened considerably. "Wait, you're the emperor of China?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Now, Crane had told me that Cream and the fox that she was looking for were taking up residence in here for the time being. Is this true, Miss...?"

"Mei Ling, milord," said the cat, bowing down in front of the emperor quickly. "Yes, it is. We're actually testing something right now."

The emperor rose an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind, Mei Ling," said Miles' voice from the kitchen. "I think we've got enough."

At this, the kitsune came out from the kitchen, Cream following closely behind. The rabbit stopped where she stood upon noticing that the emperor was standing right in front of her. Her eyes widened as she scrambled slightly.

"Oh!" she said. "Milord!"

The rabbit bowed politely even as Miles walked straight to where he had laid down the camcorder. Hitting stop on the device, he nodded to Mei Ling before bowing down to the emperor.

"Ah, Cream, I take it?" asked the emperor. "A pleasure to see you again."

"Same here, milord," replied the rabbit. "I found him."

"And I'm standing right here," said Miles.

The emperor turned his head slightly to look down upon the two-tailed fox. The kitsune simply bowed his head respectfully as he held the device in his hand. Kublai Khan would have appreciated the gesture if not for the fact that the device was making him a little uneasy.

"A pleasure to meet you," said the emperor, bowing his head in reply. "What is that you have in your hand, if you don't mind my asking?"

The kitsune looked down at the camcorder in his hand and smiled. "This is what we're going to use to film Wang Dun's private time," he said. Before the emperor could say anything, Miles continued. "This is a video recorder. And it just recorded all of your words and actions in the past few minutes."

"Preposterous!" replied Kublai Khan as he exhaled through his nose in disbelief. "I hardly believe a word of it!"

Miles pressed a few buttons, and then the sounds of footsteps were heard coming from the small device. Miles then opened a flap on the side and handed the device to the bull.

"See for yourself, milord," he said simply.

Gingerly, the emperor took up the camera in his hands, and looked down at the flap as he suddenly saw himself enter in the exact shade of peasant's clothes. He heard every detail of his conversation with Mei Ling, right down to the inflections of his voice and his expression as he talked. Miles had come out from the kitchen exactly like he had a few seconds earlier, and then the playback stopped.

To say that the emperor was shocked would have been an understatement. The emperor held the camera in his hand for a few seconds, crimson eyes displaying a rare shock. All was silent in the house for a short while as the emperor's eyes darted to the kitsune, the rabbit, and then back at the device he held in his hand.

Finally, the emperor handed the device back to Miles, the flabberghasted expression still on his face.

"What kind of technology does the world outside have?" asked the emperor as Miles took the device out of his hand.

"Well, we have a bomb that can blow up a city three times the size of Beijing," he replied. "And we also have things that display moving images and sounds."

The emperor shook his head in disbelief. After a few more seconds of silence which Miles used to turn off the camera, he spoke. "I see..." he said. "It does make me wonder about one thing; is this part of your plan to catch Tan Tao and prove that he is in fact personating Wang Dun?"

"Yes," said Miles with a brief nod. "You are always barred access to Wang Dun's room while he's in it, right?"

"Well, now that you mention it..." said Kublai Khan, rubbing his cheek in thought. "Yes, he always does bar the way into his quarters when he is inside..."

"Okay, good," said Miles. "We're going to plant this in his room when he's not in there, and whenever he enters the camera will come to life and it'll record all of his actions. Provided it hasn't run out of battery first, of course."

"That way we'll know for sure what he's been doing behind closed doors!" chimed in Cream. "And then we can prove that Tan Tao and Wang Dun are in fact the same person! We'll be showing you whatever we get no matter what happens, though! You can be sure of that!"

The emperor nodded. "I can plainly see that there is no harm against me in your plans, then," he said plaintively, turning to Crane. "I shall let this plan go through, then. I sincerely hope your suspicions are correct, however, or else I will brand the Furious Five traitors to the country."

"Good," said Miles, walking over to Crane with a smile on his face. "Here. You should take this to the palace."

The bird nodded, taking the video camera from Miles with a nod. "Okay," he said. "Should I turn it on when I get there, or...?"

"We need as much battery power as we can get," replied Miles. "I already turned it off, so once you've planted the camera, turn it on and leave it to sit somewhere. It should start recording whenever Wang Dun enters."

"Okay," replied Crane, looking over the device one last time before nodding.

"Remind me that I must try harder to set up diplomatic relations with the outside world..." said the emperor. "For I am utterly confused right now."

"Don't worry," replied Miles. "I'm sure once Tan Tao is out of the way that will change fast."

The emperor flashed a skeptical look at the kitsune before turning to Crane and nodding.

"That will be all, then," replied the bull. "Let us return to the imperial palace."

"All right," said Crane, turning to Mei Ling. "Thanks for watching over them for us, Mei Ling."

"Oh, you know I'd do anything for a friend," replied Mei Ling as she bowed to Crane first and then to the emperor. "May fortune be with you, milord."

And with this, Crane and Kublai Khan both left the humble abode of Mei Ling, the kitsune looking after the large bull. His sapphire eyes turned to Mei Ling, who stood there quietly.

"You think things are going to end okay with all this happening?" asked the mountain lion.

"I think they will," replied the two-tailed fox with a shrug. "I'm keeping that hope with me, at least."

The mountain lion nodded, hoping that the kitsune was right as she rubbed the back of one of her ears.

* * *

Crane had snuck into Wang Dun's quarters later that day. Thankfully, the empror was busy distracting him with a meeting with a messenger from the Hong Kong district for long enough for the bird to find a good place to plant the camera.

Almost as soon as he had entered the room through the window, however, he saw how truly messy it was. Sheets were strewn all over the place, with a strange array of potions on a table being the only thing organized there was.

Crane smiled at himself at this, thinking about how easy it would be to hide the camera.

Looking up, he saw a shelf with many sheets that seemed to look down into a majority of the room. Crane noticed this, and flew up with the camera in his beak. He looked there, and then rearranged the sheets slightly. Nodding at this, he gently let the camera down, making sure that the circle that was the lens looked down into all of the room beneath him. The infared sensor was also attached to the camera in a way that it did not make itself visible to anybody but at the same time could sense when Tan Tao had walked into the picture.

Pleased, Crane made sure to look after anything he might have left signifying he was there. Upon finding that he had not left a single feather in there, the crane nodded, and exited through the window of Wang Dun's quarters.

* * *

Tai Lung looked listlessly on from where he sat in the small cell. Light simmered in from the window cell just above where the top of his head would be if he was standing. The Dragon Warrior stood in front of him, the guards having gone on break after finding out that the Dragon Warrior would be watching over Po. The time had been spent in silence, as Tai Lung had been left alone with his thoughts. However, the silence combined with the darkness was beginning to get to the both of them. Nevously, Tai Lung shifted his hands.

"You know, I've always been wondering something..." said Tai Lung uncertainly.

The panda rose an eyebrow. "What's up?" he asked.

"Well, I'm just baffled that you accepted the story behind Shifu's death so quickly," replied the snow leopard softly.

Po turned to look at the snow leopard, a perplexed look in his eye. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

Tai Lung shrugged in reply. "You know who I am," he said. "Tai Lung, the most feared warrior in all of China. The man who killed hundreds of innocents after going on a rampage. I could've lied to you, and yet you accepted my story. I'm not saying I made it up, but still... why so fast to accept that?"

The panda chuckled at this. Confused, one of Tai Lung's ears perked up.

"Well, it's the stuff that goes on around you that you don't notice that catches people's attention," he replied simply. "If you had killed Shifu, then Mantis and Crane would've said something by now. That, or they would've been trying to kick your ass back in the Devil's Mouth. And then we would've been kickin' your ass with our awesomeness!"

The panda struck a pose in front of the bars. Tai Lung could not help but chuckle at this good-hearted display of superiority; knowing Po the way everybody talked about him, it was all in good fun.

"But seriously, though, there's other stuff too," said Po. "The wound was too big for your claws to make, for one thing. And then there was the fact that Cream, Mantis, and Crane all seemed as sad as you did."

"Not as sad, though..." replied Tai Lung morosely, the pain of losing Shifu welling up in his heart once again. "Po, you haven't got any idea what it's like to lose the one person you look up to as a parent right after they've forgiven you. It's..." Tai Lung wiped a solitary tear from his face quickly so that Po would not see it. "It's hard. It truly is. It's just so hard to believe that the person actually forgave you... especially when you feel you're above that. And especially when you've made him so sad with what you've done..."

Po nodded as he heard Tai Lung go on and on about the nature of his grief. Turning to him, the panda smiled softly.

"You know, it's interestin' you should say that," said Po. "'Cause Shifu always blamed himself for your rampage. He always thought he had made you concentrate too much on kung fu studies... And he felt it was his fault for putting thoughts into your head."

Tai Lung nodded, knowing that the Dragon Warrior had not needed to tell him this. Deciding to humor him anyway, though, he decided to speak up. "Well, that is true," Tai Lung said softly. "But it doesn't change the fact that what I did went against what he would've liked. Even discounting the code of a kung fu warrior. So what else could have caused him to forgive me?"

"You have feelings," he replied simply. "You've also shown that you still have your sense of what's right and what's wrong. As long as you have that, you can be forgiven."

Po nodded, holding a hand into the bars as Tai Lung saw the panda's hand reach into the bars. "Just know that as long as you hang on to that, you're not above being forgiven at all," he said. "Take it from me, man."

Tai Lung smiled a genuinely happy smile as he looked at the hand Po held in front of him. Standing up, the leopard took the panda's hand and shook it softly.

"Thanks," he said. "For understanding. You've got no idea how good it feels to have people I can rely on to talk with me."

The leopard let the panda's paw go, and then it retreated out of the cell rather slowly as the panda nodded at the former criminal.

"My pleasure," said the bear with a smile.

Tai Lung was finding out very quickly that Po's smile was one of the most infectious things in the world, as he felt himself smiling as well as he sat back down on the wooden bench he called his bed.

* * *

Night had fallen upon the imperial palace relatively early. Now, Tigress stood guard, the two guards next to her standing stock still as Tai Lung sat on the wooden bed. The moonlight seeped in through the bars, the pale blue light casting a strange kind of beauty on the stone floor as Tai Lung looked over to where the female cat was guarding his cell.

He had been thinking about various tangents concerning their plan earlier that night. They had conceived the plan with the hope that Tan Tao would stumble on himself somewhere and try to make a mistake that would ultimately bring him down. So far, the fatal mistake had not been made.

He had discussed it with Tigress when the guards had left to await the new guards to take over. The leopard was glad he did; it was making sure that at least he was trying to wait despite his impatience on the matter. She had told him it would take some time, and Tai Lung knew she was correct. Thus, he had kept his mouth shut, thinking about what mistake Tan Tao would try to pull.

As he thought of this, however, he saw a shadow creep across the moonlight from where he sat. He shifted slightly, his fur standing on end as he pinched himself to make sure his mind was not playing tricks on him.

It had not.

Tai Lung knew that the shadow could not have been a good thing. He looked over to Tigress, who was looking in. A silent nodding was all the confirmation Tai Lung needed that she had seen the shadow too. Tai Lung, trying to coax her along, pointed at the window, then to his eyes.

Shaking her head, the predatory cat pointed to her eyes and then out of the cell.

Tai Lung knew that the cat had not seen what had caused the shadow. But it was clear that she was just as worried as he was.

Unfortunately, she was in no position to do anything about it, so Tai Lung stepped off of the wooden cot, looking at the bars to see which angle would be best to break out from.

* * *

Kublai Khan was sleeping soundly in his bed-chambers, the moonlight seeping in through silk curtains as he snored softly. The imposing bull was resting on his side that night, horns just a short distance away from the headboard of the bed.

It was the perfect setting for an assassination. Or so, Tan Tao hoped.

Sneakily, the white tiger climbed into the room, chi energy supporting his steps to make sure he would not be given away by the floorboards. Grinning maliciously, he looked over to where the emperor was sleeping.

It would be the perfect kill.

But he needed to be quick. He knew the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior had somehow figured out that he was trying to get the throne of China for himself. It was probably Tai Lung; he realized deep down he should never have let the snow leopard run free that night.

What had passed was past, however, and he concentrated on the task at hand.

Holding a hand out in front of him, Tan Tao focused some chi energy on the emperor, testing his grounds as a malicious look overcame in his eyes.

It was unfortunate that the bull had decided to wake up then of all moments from the energy that Tan Tao had unintentionally given him.

Scowling in anger, the tiger brought his paw back to his person. Instantly, a surprised Kublai Khan was sent flying at Tan Tao. The crime lord caught the emperor in his arms, and Kublai Khan only had time to let out the beginning of a cry for help before Tan Tao put his hand on the bull's mouth.

"I wouldn't scream if I were you, _Khan_," said Tan Tao insultingly. "I can kill you right here and right now."

The tiger shifted on his feet, leering malevolently at Kublai Khan as the emperor looked at him with fear in his eyes. "You promise not to scream?"

Kublai Khan could only nod at this. He felt the hand unclamp itself from his mouth.

"Tan Tao?" asked the emperor. "I thought you were--"

"Dead?" asked the tiger. "Wang Dun never did like me, I suppose. Explains why he left me at the place where we had our mission, if you will." Ignoring the glance that Kublai Khan shot him, he continued. "But I found my way back. And I've built my ground back up. That's two years of my life I will unfortunately never reclaim."

The emperor would have moved, but he found it impossible. Seeing the paw that Tan Tao was holding up, the emperor suddenly gawked.

"You..." he said. "You're a chi mage!"

"Ah, yes," replied Tan Tao, grinning widely. "It's a skill I picked up directly under your eye. Wang Dun didn't seem to notice either. At least, not until before we were supposed to be heading back to China."

Kublai Khan shook his head. "You know it is illegal to use chi to fight people!" he exclaimed as softly as he could. "Our best warriors would be outmatched!"

"But then again, you wouldn't want your best warriors to topple a criminal empire, would you?" asked Tan Tao sneakily.

And before Kublai Khan could reply, the predatory cat gestured out towards the window. Against his will, Kublai Khan was sent flying out into the courtyard, Tan Tao jumping down after him.

* * *

Upon hearing the soft thud, the guards turned, horns turned towards the cell to find that Tai Lung was still there. Tigress and Tai Lung were also on alert after this.

"Did ya hear that?" asked one of the guards. "That sounds awfully suspicious."

Tai Lung looked over to the guards with a surprised expression on his face. Tigress' nose wrinkled suddenly, something dawning on her.

"Wait, a thud in the yard..." she said. "Coming from the right side of the palace..."

Tai Lung tensed, noticing the rhinos doing the exact same thing as the exact same thought ran through their heads.

* * *

Tan Tao jumped into the courtyard, landing some distance from where the emperor was. Shaking his head and grinning deliriously, Tan Tao lifted Kublai Khan with his chi energy, bringing the bull to him.

"You know, it is a shame that I will have to kill you," he said. "But, precautions must be taken. I would not want my criminal empire to collapse after thirty-seven years, would I?"

Before Kublai Khan could reply, he suddenly felt himself careen backwards, his back hitting a wall. The chi fighter released his hold on Kublai Khan, the ruler falling to the ground.

* * *

The wall shook with vibrations of something colliding with it. Tai Lung looked over.

"Oh, no..." said Tigress suddenly. "The emperor is in big trouble..."

"We've gotta go help him!" cried the two rhino guards.

As they scampered off, Tai Lung shook his head. Looking at the bars in the window, he crouched into a jumping position.

"Damn idiots aren't going to get to him in time," he said as Tigress stood there. "This might make some noise."

He leapt up into the air, his fist flying out at the bars holding him inside the cell.

* * *

Tan Tao levitated a rock in the air. Leering malevolently, he looked at Kublai Khan, shaking his head. He then sent the rock flying at Kublai Khan.

However, a metal bar suddenly collided with the object, sending it off of its intended trajectory. Blinking in surprise, Tan Tao did not notice the other two bars headed in his direction. Both bars hit him in the arms rather harshly, and the cat growled in anger as he looked down.

He looked at where the bars had come from too late, however, for then the next thing he saw was the form of Tai Lung rushing at him. He was unable to get out of the way before the leopard kicked the tiger in the chest, sending him flying back a few feet into a tree. His back hit this hard, and then the tiger was left in a sitting position to look at the kung fu fighter.

The sound of Tai Lung's claws coming out was heard then, and Kublai Khan looked up, confused as to why the cat would be helping him.

"Keep your hands _off _of him," said Tai Lung, snarling.

Tan Tao chuckled darkly as he looked at the snow leopard, standing up as he did.

"So we meet again, Tai Lung," he said. "I guess I'll ask you a second time about accepting my proposal to spread anarchy throughout China?"

Tai Lung scoffed at this. "And I guess I'll tell you a second time that there is no way I am going to join you," he said simply.

"Oh?" asked the white tiger, standing up. "Let's see. You and I are at the scene where the emperor could be assassinated, and you are the only cat here. You are also the only one with a motive to do so; being locked up and days away from death. I think you forget what could happen."

Tai Lung suddenly noticed a rock levitating in the air. Thinking quickly, the leopard jumped to where the emperor stood, fearing the projectile would hit the emperor. The rock did head in that direction, and so Tai Lung was able to kick it away. The rock did try to come back again, but each time the snow leopard hit the rock with a well timed blow, twice with his fists, three times with his feet, and one time with a chop. Finally, it reeled back towards the emperor a final time, and Tai Lung was able to kick the rock in Tan Tao's direction. And before the chi mage could stop its path, he felt the piece of earth hit him in the eye. Tan Tao was then sent flying back again.

"And I think you forget why I'm so notorious in the first place," pointed out Tai Lung. "I was the most infamous warrior in all of China. Key word being warrior! I can defend the emperor's life until the guards get here, and I can outsmart whatever you throw at me!"

Tan Tao simply groaned as he looked over. "And what motivation do you have to go against me, anyway?" asked Tan Tao uncertainly.

The snow leopard shook his head. "You kidnapped a friend of my friend," he replied angrily. "You forced her into something nobody should be forced to do, and you make it seem perfectly innocent? I will not stand for that, especially since it would make Miles upset if she fell into your hands again!"

"But that is not enough motivation!" cried Tan Tao, levitating a large twig before sending it flying at Tai Lung.

The master of the thousand scrolls growled, the emperor looking on in shock as he jumped at the twig and kicked it away from him.

"It's also your fault that Shifu is dead!" he cried out into the night. "You killed the only man I had that I could call a family! I will never join you, because I know that it would disrespect his memory if I did!"

The emperor's eyes were wide at this proclamation, crimson staring up at the leopard that was defending him.

"What?" he asked, clearly showing shock. "Shifu died?"

"Oh, my scouts killed him, did they?" asked Tan Tao. "I'm sorry if they took your father away from you; it's too bad you're still clinging on to a man who hated you."

"He _forgave_ me!" cried Tai Lung, a tear coming from his eye as he kept up a fighting stance. "What I saw in his final moments wasn't anything hateful! He forgave me for my sins!"

The tiger chose not to reply with words, instead hurling another rock at the emperor. This, Tai Lung successfully kicked away, the leopard getting progressively angrier by the second.

"And I'll be damned if I let that forgiveness go to waste!" cried the leopard.

"Enough!" cried Tan Tao, clearly enraged by this talk that Tai Lung was assaulting on him. "I have tried this for long enough, but it seems I will have to kill you too then!"

"Bring it," challenged Tai Lung. "You know you'll have to try harder than that to kill me!"

The opposing predatory cat smirked, and suddenly every single rock was levitating off of the ground. Looking at this, Tai Lung gulped uncertainly, looking around him as he dropped his fighting stance.

"I will," replied Tan Tao, his grin nothing short of gleeful as his amber eyes glinted in pure malice.

Right before he could send all of the rocks pummeling on Tai Lung and Kublai Khan, however, the tiger suddenly fell to the side, a loud snap sounding out as he reeled to the side. Crane appeared then, long legs snapping out as he kicked Tan Tao in the face, sending him and all of the stones he had levitated falling to the ground.

And out of nowhere, Po and the remainder of the Furious Five came out, a huge contingent of guards behind Tigress. The large crowd had gathered as the guards filed along so that they stood all around the perimeter. The guards next to the emperor paid no mind to Tai Lung, noticing the fighting stance the leopard was keeping up there. The tiger shook his head and groaned at the sight around him, his expression instantly dropping.

"You were saying?" asked Tai Lung, a smug grin forming on his face as he spoke.

Growling, the tiger simply snapped his fingers. In a burst of chi energy, the would-be assassin disappeared into thin air.

The guards stood stock still, expecting the warrior to reappear again. However, he did not, and so they all looked to each other and shrugged before letting down their guards.

Tai Lung dropped his fighting stance, and turning to the emperor, he knelt down.

"Are you all right?" asked the snow leopard, feeling the glare of the guards on his person.

"My back is in great pain, but I will live," replied the emperor, his shock having been overwhelmed by relief. "Thank you. For saving my life."

"You're welcome," replied Tai Lung, moving so he was next to the emperor. Carefully, the snow leopard slung one of the bull's arms over his shoulders, and slowly the two of them stood up, the bull grunting slightly from the pain. The emperor seemed to be unamused with what this could have meant, but he was not one to complain as the pain in his back really was rather bad. Looking at his guards, he nodded.

"Guards?" he asked. "I shall ask you to write an order."

"Yes, milord?" asked one of the guards as the others listened intently.

"As of this moment, all of the charges against Tai Lung have been dropped," said the emperor. "Tell the people that he unexpectedly saved my life and that I have officially pardoned him of all of his crimes. And whatever you do, do not say a word about what happened to Wang Dun in the morning!"

"But... sir, the advisor should know as well," replied one of the rhinos.

"I want to experiment with something," replied the emperor stoically. "Besides, my orders override his orders any day."

The snow leopard was so shocked by what he heard that he nearly dropped the emperor by accident. The guards simply nodded, however, and a large portion filed out of the courtyard. A few stayed behind to make sure nothing odd was going on. Tai Lung began to move out of the courtyard, flanked by the guards around the emperor. Po and the Furious Five then moved over to where Tai Lung was leading Kublai Khan around.

"I see Tai Lung still has some good in him," said the bull with a smile on his face as Po and the Furious Five filed into step beside the emperor. "I apologize for any accusations of treason I leveled on you."

"Nah, it's cool," replied Mantis. "I would've done the same thing in your place."

The bull's expression turned solemn as he thought of what had been exchanged, however. "Something troubles me," he said. "Tai Lung said that Shifu is dead now..."

Po nodded. "He is..." he replied.

"It's a long story..." replied the snow leopard. "And it's a bit hard for me to tell. I hope you do not mind if I wait until tomorrow morning to tell you what happened..."

"Not at all," replied Kublai Khan, seeing the point Tai Lung was attempting to make.

"Just know that Tan Tao's gonna _pay_ for his involvement with Shifu's death," said Crane bitterly, shaking his head.

The bull nodded, letting Tai Lung walk him along to a bed as the group re-entered the palace.

"By the way, Crane..." said the emperor. "Perhaps you should bring Mei Ling, Miles, and Cream over to the palace?"

Tigress gave the emperor an uncertain glance. "Are you thinking of something?"

The emperor nodded, smirking deviously. "You said Tan Tao was impersonating Wang Dun, yes?" he asked. "We shall see whether that theory is correct tomorrow. And if it is, we shall confront him about it alltogether."

Heads nodded at this, Tai Lung still walking along with Kublai Khan leaning against him. "We'll think about that when the time comes," he said. "For now, you're alive, and that's all that really matters."

Heads nodded in agreement with the former criminal as they walked over to the hospital wing.


	22. Chapter 14

Okay. Last time, lots of crap hit the fan, such that our heroes now have the upper hand without question.

And yes, I mean that literally. Tan Tao played into their hands so well it's almost laughable, really. You'll see why in a second.

So, here we go.

* * *

Chapter 14

The next morning, Kublai Khan sat up in his bed, feeling much better from the acupuncture session he had taken with Mantis. The bull was now talking with Tai Lung and Po; the Furious Five stood outside to keep Wang Dun's attention long enough for Tai Lung to explain their plans to the emperor. Crane had gone off to bring Miles, Cream, Mei Ling, and a fourth person that the emperor had not seen to the palace, and he would be returning quite soon no doubt. In the meantime, the bull listened to the panda and the ex-criminal about their plans to bring down Tan Tao's empire.

"So you were _hoping_ that he would make a move like that?" asked the bull.

"Yeah," said Po. "That way, we could find a way to prove that the two of them are the same."

"I mean, the bars I kicked at him had to hurt," added Tai Lung. "So I'm expecting that and a black eye from the rock..."

The emperor nodded. "In a way, it is good," he replied. "I know that now somebody is after me. That sloppy mistake will have its consequences the next time he tries it."

"Trust me, we hope to guarantee that tonight," replied the snow leopard, standing up and walking to the window. "I should probably get going to keep Wang Dun from suspecting anything."

The two friends nodded. "Go down to the royal garden," recommended the emperor quickly. "That should be the last place Wang Dun would check, and if he does you can hide rather well in there."

The leopard nodded in reply to this piece of news. He then darted out of the room, his form disappearing rather quickly. Nodding, the emperor looked to the Dragon Warrior, nodding.

"I apologize for my initial skepticism," said Kublai Khan slowly.

"Nah, it's cool," replied the Dragon Warrior as he stood up. "Now that we're on the same page, though, we should try to distract Wang Dun long enough for him not to notice anything while we look at the footage..."

"Indeed," replied the emperor as he stood up as well. "I still shower you with condolences over what happened to Shifu..."

Po nodded, thoughts of his old master making him somber. "Thanks," said the panda. "Tai Lung would've liked to hear that more than me, but still."

The emperor nodded, remembering that he had to say that to the leopard the next time they were ready to speak to each other.

* * *

Crane led Mei Ling, Miles, Cream, and Tai Xue along an area just below the imperial palace, all of them following as quickly as they could as Mei Ling carried Tai Xue in a sort of piggy back style.

"Crane, are you sure this is such a good idea?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure!" said the bird, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have agreed to doing this otherwise. Besides, the emperor's word is second to none."

"Well, all right, dear..." said Tai Xue softly. "I will trust you..."

Crane nodded, inspecting where he saw a bunch of cherry trees quite a distance away from the architecture of the imperial. Looking up, he saw Wang Dun going arund the palace, the ambassador engaged in a conversation with Tigress. The two of them passed right by the royal gardens. For a brief second, the bird thought Tigress had noticed him and Mei Ling peeking over the wall to make sure they were gone. Paying it no mind, they continued until they could not be seen. Turning and nodding, the bird pointed at where the cherry trees were.

"Okay, you see those trees?" he asked. Upon seeing heads nod, he continued. "When I give you the signal, you're going to run as fast as we can to that point. It's the royal garden, a place that the emperor says Wang Dun would never check to see if we are there. Once I'm there, I'll try to steal the camera from Wang Dun's room and I'll run it back here."

"Okay," said Miles, looking into the thick array of cherry trees that were visible far enough away from the palace to be secluded.

Crane kept a vigilant watch from where he stood, eyeing the palace's walkway to make sure nobody was looking. he should not have worried, but he knew there were a few guards who probably would tell Wang Dun of what had happened. He was sure Tai Lung had snuck into the royal gardens all right, but he was afraid of what could happen if their plans were discovered by Wang Dun or Tan Tao. It did not really matter, he knew.

He kept watch long enough to see the guards leave their stances to change the guard. When he saw this, he gestured with his wing.

"Go!" he beckoned to his four companions.

Without asking any questions, the group suddenly took off, Miles not caring to go into superspeed since he knew that a loud boom would probably draw more attention to themselves than they needed. Mei Ling and Cream kept up with the surprisingly fast kitsune, the short distance being covered very quickly. They broke through the trees in a grand rustling of branches; Miles figured with the way that the trees were set up it would seem like the wind to anyone who had turned their heads right then as the four of them broke through the trees.

What they saw was a rather beautiful garden, blossoms and trees allowed to grow quietly in a strange kind of solitude. To the side, a set of prayer bells sat, mostly undisturbed as they displayed themselves proudly to the group of four. Lotus blossoms littered the ground right by a walkway that seemed to head deeper into the garden. To the side, a statue of a large bull was erected, gold shimmering in the sunlight as the statue seemed to look down on them positively. The line of sight was on the walkway, simple stones jutting out of the earth plaintively.

Standing on this walkway was Tai Lung, who had turned to face them just as they had broken through the trees. The predatory cat looked upon them, smiling as they nodded in his presence. The cat turned and stood up from the kneeling position he had taken up, eyes registering genuine surprise at seeing his friends come to the royal gardens, of all places.

"So it's true," said Mei Ling as she let Tai Xue down. "You really were pardoned by the emperor."

"It's true," replied Tai Lung, looking over in the direction of the imperial palace.

"Oh, you're safe!" cried Miles, jumping onto Tai Lung unexpectedly. "You're okay!"

Tai Lung was taken a little by surprise by the kitsune's actions, but he smiled warmly when his friend latched onto him. Slowly, Tai Lung hugged him briefly before the fox jumped out of his arms.

"Of course I am," he replied. "I've got more stamina than that..."

"It is good that you do," said Tai Xue softly as she walked towards Tai Lung. "Have you told your sister yet?"

Tai Lung glanced nervously to the side before shaking his head. "I'd rather you be the one to tell her," replied the snow leopard uncertainly.

The older cat nodded understandingly. "I understand," she said, smiling warmly.

Cream shrugged as she looked at the garden. "So I guess we wait here?"

Tai Lung shrugged. "I guess," he said, walking along the pathway. "But we're probably better off going deeper into the garden. That way those guards won't see us first thing if they happen to look in here."

Miles nodded at this, following Tai Lung closely. "Okay," he said.

And the five of them went deeper into the imperial garden, wondering what else the grand greenery could hold there.

* * *

It was pretty early in the day when Kublai Khan found Wang Dun walking into the throne room. The emperor smiled kindly upon the ambassador, walking forward while doing his best not to betray his newfound unease in being in his advisor's presence. Mantis and Viper were accompanying the bull then, the two of them keeping their demeanors calm as well. The ambassador's head was turned to them, and then the three of them suddenly noticed that the fur around Wang Dun's eye seemed a little different than it had the day previous.

Seeing this, the emperor looked at his subordinate with a great deal of concern on his face. "Wang Dun, may I ask why the fur around your eye is darker?" he asked.

"Oh! Well..." And from the initial hesitation, Viper, Mantis, and Kublai Khan all realized what was truly going on. "I... I fell out of my bed, milord. I had a rough night last night, as you can well imagine..."

The emperor nodded, realizing that something deep was happening. Keeping his calm demeanor, the emperor continued the conversation. "Oh, dear..." he said, making sure to sound genuinely concerned. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, milord," replied the ambassador. "It will get better on its own eventually..."

Viper decided to take this time to speak. "Did you notice anything... odd... happening last night?" asked the snake curiously.

"No, no I didn't," replied Wang Dun. The reply was incriminating enough, but the hastiness with which he said this caused Mantis to raise one of his eyebrows unnoticeably. "I fell out of my bed, but I did not see anything out of the ordinary otherwise."

"I see..." replied the emperor. "Wang Dun, I believe you have an appointment with the treasury today?"

"Ah, yes, of course milord!" said the tiger, bowing politely. "I shall attend to that immediately!"

With this, Wang Dun left in a hurry, the emperor shaking his head and looking to Mantis and Viper.

"It seems he did not notice that I was nearly killed last night," replied the emperor.

Viper nodded. "He was so hasty about his reply, too..." she added. "As if he wanted to believe himself..."

Mantis nodded. "If nothing else, Wang Dun is definitely in on something," he said. "And that something is not cool."

The emperor nodded in agreement. "It was a stretch to accuse Tan Tao of impersonating him, but I can see now that Wang Dun is up to something else." Nodding to the two kung fu fighters, he began walking forwards in the direction opposite where Wan Dun had come from. "I shall go to the garden now. With any luck, Tai Lung and his friends shall be waiting there. And if Crane was fast enough with retrieving that camera or whatever, then so much the better. I want you two to come with me."

Viper and Mantis both nodded, and then the three of them headed in the direction of the royal garden, knowing that whatever news awaited them from the camera could not be good.

* * *

Tai Lung had been walking around the garden with Miles and the small group when suddenly Crane came running to Miles, the video camera in his wings. Smiling brightly, Miles looked at the camera to find it had been turned off.

"I got it out of there," said Crane. "I didn't look at any of the videos in it; I figured it would be better if you saw them first."

The kitsune nodded, turning the camera on and looking as the screen flickered to life. To his great surprise, however, he noticed that the battery meter that was visible in a corner of the screen was full. Blinking in surprise, he pointed this out to Cream. The rabbit stood by the kitsune, eyes wide in surprise as she noticed this too.

"But... there's no place we could have put a power chord in this place, right?" asked Cream.

Upon hearing this, the other four people in the area showed various displays of shock.

"Power chord?" asked Tai Xue. "What might you be talking about?"

Miles blinked, suddenly realizing that they needed to be told what it was. "Oh, uh..." he began. "Well, you see, we usually charge these cameras with what's called a power chord. We plug them into a wall with wires in it that feeds electric energy to this. Then, it charges the battery so that it can be used more."

"So what's the catch?" asked Mei Ling.

"The catch?" replied Miles. "The catch is that these things don't recharge themselves by just sitting there..."

Tai Lung wrinkled his nose at this, realizing something. "Then maybe chi energy had something to do with this?" he asked.

The kitsune nodded at this conclusion. "It would add weight to the chi mage theory, at least," he said. "And there's only one reason why Tan Tao would want to use chi energy in Wang Dun's room..."

Heads nodded at this revelation. Before anybody could say anything else, however, Tai Lung's ears perked up as he heard the sound of footsteps on the stone pathway. He looked over, and within a few seconds the figure of the emperor walked in, Viper and Mantis by his side as he looked to the group. Upon seeing Tai Xue in the garden, however, the bull raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I do not believe we have met before..." said the emperor, looking at the elderly snow leopard.

"We have not," replied the leopardess softly. "I am Tai Xue, a... recent friend of Cream's."

The emperor bowed his head politely in a greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, miss Tai Xue," he said. "I am Kublai Khan, emperor of China."

The ex-whore's eyes seemed to widen at this, wrinkles taking on a genuinely surprised expression. "You... Oh, milord!"

Tai Xue was instantly prostate in front of the emperor, her arms forward as everybody cast her confused looks. Chuckling good-naturedly, Kublai Khan bent down, took Tai Xue's hand, and lifted her from the ground.

"Oh, please, do not give me that nonsense here," he said, looking into her eyes softly. "This is a private place; any talk here should be strictly informal."

And with this, he turned to Miles, looking to the video camera in the kitsune's hand. When the fox felt the emperor's gaze fall on him, he jumped slightly.

"Oh!" he said, gesturing for everybody to come together to see what the tape had. "Crane just came with this thing! Let's see what it recorded, yes?"

The entire group came forward, Mantis jumping onto Cream's head and Viper slithering over Crane's shoulders as everybody else hunched over to look at the image on the flap on the side of the camera. Miles pressed a few buttons, and suddenly, it played through the end of Mei Ling's conversation with the emperor.

The film seemed to jump cut to Crane leaving the camera inside Wang Dun's quarters. The bird went around picking up the feathers, and as he did the emperor got a good view of what Wang Dun's room was like.

"No wonder he did not want anybody in there!" he said, noticing how messy the room looked. "His room is a mess!"

Nobody commented on this as they watched Crane leave. Another cut was made, and when the shot changed the light of the sun was replaced by a darkness, illuminated by the dull sapphire light of the moon. Wang Dun seemed to walk into view of the camera, the tiger rubbing his temples. He seemed to sit on his bed, the messy details of his room only then coming to focus.

The man then grabbed a potion off of the table and opened it, a strange yellow wisp rising from the potion's neck as it was opened. Wang Dun inhaled the wisp, closing his eyes as if pleased. Feeling invigorated, the ambassador stood up, stretching his limbs out.

What could be described after he did that was anybody's guess. Wang Dun then suddenly opened another potion, and then he took a sip of its contents. The tiger held his head in pain after setting the potion down on the table, and then suddenly the tiger's fur seemed to change color. Before anybody knew what had happened, Wang Dun had white fur instead of the orange fur everybody knew he had, and he seemed taller as well.

"Tan Tao..." muttered Tai Xue as she looked down at the tiger.

Wordlessly, the tiger then jumped out, and then another jump cut was made of when the tiger had returned. The cat quickly ran to the table, and quickly grabbed yet another potion from the table. Opening it quickly, he drank it and wiped his mouth. He set the potion back on the table just in time for him to grab his head from the headache. The tiger then shifted back to his Wang Dun form, the ambassador breathing in and out very heavily as he looked at his paws. Grabbing a mirror from the table, he looked on his own face to see the black eye. Swearing loudly so that the camera's sound could pick it up, he threw the mirror down. At this, a strange kind of energy seemed to emanate throughout the room, and even more so when the covers of his bed flung themselves up. Wang Dun then sat on his bed, thinking about something that by this point they all realized was a cover story.

Thinking they had seen enough, Miles saw it fit to stop the tape at that point. Looking to Kublai Khan, Mantis and Crane both nodded as the emperor reeled back in shock.

"We called it," said Mantis, shrugging.

Kublai Khan simply said nothing, wondering if what he had just seen was real. He remembered that Miles had proved that it wold record whatever it saw when it turned on, so there was no way he could have faked any of that footage. However, the jump cuts bothered him a little.

"If you don't mind my asking, why did it seem as if the footage jumped around in time?" asked the emperor.

Miles pointed to the grotesque addition on the camera. "This wasn't originally on it," he replied. "I added it at Mei Ling's house. But what it does is that it senses when someone is in a room, and it's programmed to record only when someone is in there."

"How does it know that?" asked Kublai Khan a little more insistently.

Miles shrugged. "There's a long and overly technical explanation for that," he said. "Llong story short, it has to do with body heat and being able to detect it."

The emperor nodded, still shocked over what he had just seen. "But then the question is, which of the brothers was killed all those years ago?"

Tai Xue rose an eyebrow at this. "Brothers?" she asked.

Kublai Khan nodded. "Wang Dun and Tan Tao were half-siblings," he replied. "One of them disappeared twelve years ago when I sent them on the first diplomatic mission to the outside world. Not only did it fail, but Tan Tao supposedly disappeared."

Looking down at the camera, the emperor continued. "Although, now that I see this, I am not sure which brother is the one that really disappeared all those years ago..."

"Then maybe you can trick him into telling you," said Tai Lung.

Kublai Khan raised an eyebrow at this. "What do you mean, trick him?" he asked. "If he catches on, then I am a dead man. He tried to kill me last night!"

"Then maybe you could bring him in here in the middle of the night," suggested Viper. "And then all of us plus Po, Tigress, and Monkey will hide in the bushes and ambush him when he gets out of control. That way, we could have him arrested when he least expects it."

"And that's two birds with one stone," said Miles. "If you'll pardon the expression," he added to Crane quickly.

The emperor nodded as he thought about this, a coy smile spreading across his lips as he thought of this.

"That definitely sounds like a plan," he said. "Tai Lung, stay here with your friends and find a good place to hide. Crane, Mantis, Viper, come with me. We are going to collect the other three warriors and lay the pieces in place for tonight."

The snow leopard nodded, and as the bull turned to leave Tai Lung nodded to his friends. Flitting about, they all hid in various places in the bushes, Tai Lung, Miles, and Cream all nestling comfortably into the small space provided by a cherry tree as they saw Mei Ling and Tai Xue hide on the opposite side of the pathway.


	23. Endgame: Chapter 15

All right, last time we came to some conclusions. So what does that mean?

It means that this time, we get confrontations! Finally, we get to act!

So with that coming up, I'll shut up now, and give you the chapter in which ass gets kicked!

* * *

Endgame: Chapter 15

Kublai Khan walked over to Wang Dun's room stridently. He had already told Tigress, Monkey, and Po to go to the garden and wait there for him and Wang Dun to arrive in the bushes. The emperor knew that the time to act was then, and he knew he only had that night to figure out what Wang Dun/Tan Tao was up to.

As such, he stood in front of the door, his knuckles rapping on the door silently. The bovine looked on the door, feeling Wan Dun approach the door. The door opened very slowly, then, Wang Dun's yellow eyes peering out first as he looked to see what had knocked at the door. Upon seeing the emperor standing there, the tiger opened the door just enough to allow his body to get out, and then he promptly closed it as soon as he was out of the room.

"You want me, milord?" asked the advisor.

"Yes, Wang Dun," replied the ruler. "I wanted to talk with you alone."

"Alone, sir?" he asked. "I do not think now would be a good time, milord."

"Now," stated Kublai Khan. "This is very urgent, and I am afraid it cannot wait for the morning."

Here, the tiger paused, seeming to choose his word choice carefully.

"Milord, if it is truly urgent, then what might the problem be?" he asked.

"I shall tell you more in a short while," he said. "For now, I want you to come with me."

"But milord, there--"

"And that is an order," added Kublai Khan sternly.

The tiger was effectivey silenced by this sentence. Kublai Khan noticed the slight gulp that Kublai Khan made when this mandate was issued, but ignored it as he knew it would give away that he knew, and he wanted to wait until he was in the royal garden to tell that.

"All right," replied Wang Dun with a tone that signified relenting. "I will go with you, milord."

The emperor nodded, and then he began walking away in silence. The tiger followed, his eyes following the bull with a great deal of paranoia.

* * *

"Tai Lung is my _brother_?"

Tigress was utterly shocked when Tai Xue finished telling her story to the leader of the Furious Five. Her mouth wide open, she glanced at where Tai Lung was hiding at the other side of the garden before looking back down at the elderly snow leopard again. Po simply shrugged from where he stood next to Tai Lung, his own eyes wide open at this revelation.

"Yeah, I was a little wierded out when I heard too," replied Mantis atop her head. "Wild coincidence, yes?"

Tigress shifted her feet uneasily, almost causing Monkey to shift to the side with the motion. "Then... then would I have gone down the same path too?" she asked. "If Shifu didn't train me to not get my hopes up, at least?"

"I doubt it," replied Mei Ling from where she stood by Tai Xue and Crane. "Tai Lung has a capacity to do good, as you've seen lately."

"Well, not exactly," said Miles from across the pathway. "I... I told you guys how I saw Oogway in my dreams, right?"

Tigress nodded, remembering when Miles had gone on to describe Oogway in detail when he told them why he came back for Tai Lung. "Yes, you did," she said. "What about that?"

"He said something about being his father's son, both adoptive and biological," continued the kitsune. "So maybe you might have."

"Except Shifu taught you to suppress the darkness in your heart," pointed out Tai Lung suddenly. "He taught me no such thing. So no, you wouldn't have."

The tigress nodded at this, realizing that Tai Lung was right. Shrugging, she looked to where the pathway stood. "It doesn't make me feel that much better, though..." she said. "Knowing you wanted to raise me but couldn't..."

"Life is difficult, Tigress," replied Tai Xue. "But it's how we deal with it that defines us. Think about it later; right now, we have more important things to worry about."

"Like kicking Tan Tao's ass?" asked Mantis playfully.

The whore chuckled at this. "Yes, like that," she said.

"We should probably shut up now," said Tai Lung as softly as he could and yet in a volume that could just be heard by the people on the other side of the path. "I can hear people coming towards us."

And at this, everybody fell silent. Po gestured to the pathway, and then the group stepped further into the cherry trees, such that the rock garden looked completely alone.

It was thus that Kublai Khan entered, the moonlight illuminating the scene ethereally as Wang Dun came in with a slighlty perturbed look on his face. The emperor stopped by the rock garden, the advisor standing timidly behind him.

"Wang Dun, tell me something," he said. "When you fell out of your bed last night, what did you hear?"

"I did not hear much, milord," replied the ambassador, his voice seemingly about to lose its nonchalant quality. "I fell very early in the morning, practically close to sunset."

Kublai Khan raised an eyebrow. "Then why did the fall affect only your eye?" he asked.

"Milord, I think you are looking too far into this," replied Wang Dun. "I hit my eye against something that was on the floor."

Kublai Khan nodded, deciding not to dwell on this case. "Are you sure nothing woke you up?"

"Yes, milord," replied Wang Dun. "Why?"

The emperor's crimson eyes looked to Wang Dun with an expression of disbelief on them. "Someone attempted to end my life last night," he said. "It caused enough ruckus to get every last guard to my aid. The assassin would have succeeded, too, if not for the fact that Tai Lung had broken out at that moment and seen what was happening."

At this, Wang Dun's ears flattened against his head. "Milord, surely you're not suggesting I am responsible for whatever happened that night?" he asked.

"I am," replied Kublai Khan dangerously.

Looking at the ambassador, the emperor reared his head and gave him a look that sent chills down Wang Dun's spine. Without breaking eye contact, the emperor began pacing around the rock garden.

"Tell me, Wang Dun," he said. "You said that Tan Tao had fallen overboard and drowned."

"Yes," he said. "Where are you going with this, milord?"

"Let me finish," said Kublai Khan cooly. "You said that Tan Tao was dead. And yet, the man who tried to take my life last night was either Tan Tao or a very exact look-alike of him. He had the same voice and everything. And he had scratch marks almost exactly like the ones you have on your cheeks right now. It turned out that Tan Tao is a chi mage with a criminal empire, as he demonstrated by throwing rocks at me. Tai Lung thankfully kicked them out of the way, and for that I am eternally grateful to him. But the fact is that Tan Tao is still alive, contrary to what you say. Furthermore, that set of scratches I saw on your faces leads me to believe that something else is happening right now..."

Wang Dun fidgeted nervously, as if thinking of exiting, but the stare of Kublai Khan kept him seated in petrified terror.

"Tell me, Wang Dun," he said. "Which was the brother that truly died on the route back to China?"

At this, Wang Dun lost his composure that he had already been fighting to keep. He opened his mouth, all of his words coming out in a garbled mess as he tried to collect his thoughts. When he finally did, he took a step back as Kublai Khan approached him.

"M-milord, I think you've gone insane!" he exclaimed.

"I command you to answer the question!" insisted the bull emphatically. "Too many coincidences have been occurring for this to be a mere simpleton's assassination plot."

"What do you mean?" asked Wang Dun wildly. "The scratches is only one thing!"

"Then explain your scout coming back with the news that Tai Lung had escaped," he said. "You sent a scout there to check on him, he escapes, and he is able to relay that message with a calm face! If what Po told me about the first time he escaped is true, the messenger that reported the case back then was frightened beyond belief! Besides, how could he have escaped without killing a single guard if he was weak?"

Wang Dun was silent at this, looking at the emperor with shock ridden in his face. "B-but... Milord..."

"It would also explain the hole in your story concerning all of your 'appointments' that you make, yes?" asked Kublai Khan. "I talked to the messengers you said you had talked to over the last week, and you want to know what they said? Half of them said they had never even gone over to converse with you. Therefore, the appointments must have been non-existant, and you must have been trying to run something behind my back."

"Milord, this is insane!" replied the predatory cat passionately. "You cannot accuse me of such things! Maybe their memories are short! Maybe they forgot they had talked with me!"

"That seems highly unlikely with the way our system works," pointed out the bovine, tail flickering behind him.

"But this is not right!" replied Wang Dun, gesturing in an impassioned manner. "You cannot accuse me of such wild charges! This is insanity! This is madness! You need some help, milord! You need help!"

"Then explain why your fur has changed color and you're suddenly just the slightest bit taller than you wore before," said the emperor.

Wang Dun looked down on his arms, and realized too late that the emperor was right. His fur was no longer orange; the white now shone in the moonlight as he realized the ground was just a few extra inches below him. He looked around him, but found that his sight could not be broken from the coy smile that the emperor gave him.

Wang Dun was no more. The facade had fallen, leaving Tan Tao standing in his full glory. The emperor had found him out. And he had revealed it in a way that rubbed the realization in his face so hard he swore he felt the blisters forming.

"So your true form was Tan Tao, then," continued Kublai Khan as an enraged frown formed on Tan Tao's face. "And Wang Dun is the brother that died. Or would it be more appropriate to say 'the brother that you murdered'?"

Tan Tao's nostrils flared, and before anybody knew what had happened the ambassador held his hand out in front of the emperor. The emperor's neck suddenly seemed to constrict, and Kublai Khan was brought to his knees, looking up at Tan Tao.

"He found out," replied the tiger. "I never told you the _real_ reason the ruler of that land rejected me. He said that he would not work with a criminal lord. How he knew that is anybody's guess, but he replied that he knew everything as he created most of it. I would have liked to bash that head of his in; it was very strange, anyways. I'd still like to kill that thing once I become emperor."

The tiger continued, glaring at the bull in front of him. "Wang Dun found out. He said he would find my empire. He did make a fatal mistake, however; he did foget that our guards were not with us. So I slit his throat and dumped him in a pool of lava close to where I was. While I was at it, I stole some bear bitch from her home and added her to my criminal empire. That was when my double life as Wang Dun began."

"You... you heartless monster..." said the emperor.

"It's why I was after your throne," continued the crime lord venomously. "With you out of the way, I could keep my empire safe. I could prosper. Which is why I sent that scout to free Tai Lung. He should've caused anarchy, but I guess that little kitsune bitch got him to not do that."

Tai Lung looked down on Kublai Khan with contempt strewn over his eyes as he tightened his chi hold on the emperor's neck. "It's a shame nothing went according to plan," he said, calculatedly. "I would have liked to be a white horse to the people of China, if only because it would get my policies across much, much faster and without so much hassle. But that is life for you."

"It's a bigger shame to that it's still not going according to plan!"

With this, Tai Lung burst out of the bushes, Tan Tao whirling around and promptly being kicked in the face by the snow leopard. This caused the tiger to release his choke hold on Kublai Khan, and then he was laying on his side. Before he could get up, though, he felt something step on his tail, and then Tan Tao yelped in pain as he tried to move but found he could not.

"My suggestion, my dear?" asked Tai Xue, coming out of the bushes as she looked to where Po stood with his foot on the tiger's tail. "Do not walk into a garden alone when you suspect a trap."

Tai Lung simply glared at Tai Xue angrily. Without warning, his hand came out, and then Tai Xue found herself choking. She clawed at the air desperately, struggling to breathe.

Tigress, seeing this, was quick to kick Tan Tao in the face. This released the crime lord's hold on the elder whore, and before much else could be done Tigress and Tai Lung were both holding Tan Tao's hands down.

"You bitch!" cried Tan Tao. "You traitorous bitch!"

"You betrayed my trust before I ever did!" retorted Tai Xue loudly. "Do you truly think I supported your harem all the way through its existence? Do you truly think so, Tan Tao? I never liked it! You wronged so many women it was a wrong to me!"

Tan Tao growled, and suddenly his hand shot out from where Tigress had been holding it down. Before he could choke Tai Xue again, however, Viper came in and hit the crime lord in the wrist. This made the crime lord yelp in pain, but before he could act Mantis had grabbed his paw and thrown him over. Tai Lung then jumped back, jumping onto Tan Tao's neck.

"And you really think she's going to forgive you after she bore you two children?" asked Tai Lung angrily.

Tan Tao was shocked by this revelation. Tai Lung was not stepping on the crime lord's neck with enough force to choke him to death, but he still looked to Tai Xue with bitter hatred burning in his eyes.

"You bore me... two children... and you never told me?" he nearly roared.

"You would have killed them!" replied Tai Xue. "And by now, they are all grown up and can defend themselves!"

"You... You bitch!"

Tai Lung pressed down harder on Tan Tao's neck, the malice in the snow leopard's eyes quite discomforting. "You really think I'm going to let you get away with calling my mother that?" he asked.

This shocked Tan Tao so much the tiger could barely even speak. Sensing this, Tai Lung took his foot of of Tan Tao's neck. The crime lord would have sent something flying, but by this time Mantis had grabbed a hold of the paw again, and then Tan Tao was sent flying high into the air.

As he was flying, however, the chi mage suddenly thrust his hand down when he was facing the earth. This caused a blast of air to hit the ground, the blast radiating out. Tai Xue nearly flew into the trees thanks to this, but Tigress had come running in time to catch the old predatory cat. Tan Tao landed on his feet soon afterwards, glaring at everybody with an intense hatred.

Before he could do much, however, Tai Lung had jumped at the chi mage. The man held his hand out, and the snow leopard was then sent flying into a tree. The plant shook with the impact, the crime lord then blocking a palm strike from Monkey before kicking him away.

Tan Tao then felt something punch him in the back of his head. Turning to recover, he saw that the fat panda had punched him away with a well-timed back-hand. Recovering from this, he brought out his leg just in time to kick Tigress in the face. He sent the feline flying further with a wave of his hand.

However, Tan Tao had not seen Crane until he felt the foot kick into his back. This strartled the tiger greatly, but he still landed on all fours. He used the momentum to rush at the bird.

Before he could, however, he felt something get slapped onto his person. The crime lord then felt himself get kicked away by a mountain lion, where he then hit a tree. When he sent his hand forward, however, he did not seem to do anything. Blinking and bringing his hand forward again, the tiger found himself unable to use his chi magic.

The Furious Five were quick to act. Tigress had tackled Tan Tao to the ground, and then the two of them grappled for a short period where Tigress sustained a punch to the face. This would have freed him, but the kung fu master was not to be daunted. She fought back with a well-timed head blow, dazing Tan Tao for a few seconds. This was all the distraction they needed before the rest of the kung fu group pounced onto Tan Tao, the five of them overpowering the former ambassador as he struggled in vain. Tai Lung then grabbed a length of rope that Mei Ling was holding on to, and right when the Five had his wrists bound behind the chi master, the leopard went in and very quickly tied the villain's hands together.

After this, the group brought Tan Tao to a standing position, the tiger glaring at everybody. Kublai Khan simply looked on, shaking his head. He looked to the mountain lion then, noticing the herbs crushed in her hand. Cursing under his breath, Tan Tao defiantly met the emperor's gaze.

"I am very disappointed in you, Tan Tao," said the emperor. "I thought you knew better than to turn to this life. I truly did."

The captured crime lord simply spat at him, glaring at Tai Xue. "Damn you all!" he said. "I was trying to avoid my own doom! That fortune teller I met told me all about it when I began my empire! She said I would fall because of my children and my brother! I was only keeping my empire safe! That was all I was doing!"

"You should not even have formed such an empire, anyway," pointed out Tigress. "You honestly believe you were doing right?"

"It funded thousands of donations to China's treasury!" retorted Tan Tao. "How do you think we got so much money? Because people paid to have sex with women and to buy drugs! That's where the money in the treasury came from! It was only a fundraising tactic!"

At this, Kublai Khan blinked. "You said it was only a fundraising tactic," he said. "You raised the funds of our nations with blood and tears of hundreds of unwilling women and girls! Do you call yourself virtuous, you blind coward?"

"Moreso than some pansy who sits on a big chair all day!" cried Tan Tao. "None of this should have happened! I should have become emperor! I should never have been defeated! I should have risen over what people saw as my destiny!"

Tai Lung shook his head at this as Po grabbed the tiger by the arm. "Master Oogway once said 'one often meets their destiny taking the path to avoid it'," recited the snow leopard. "Perhaps you should have thought of that before you did any of this?"

Tan Tao simply growled at his son. Shaking his head, he felt the Five begin to take him away.

"I shall have you executed tomorrow for grand treason," said Kublai Khan. "Have you any final questions you want to impart on me?"

"How..." he said dangerously. "How did any of you know about my double life?"

"Ah, see, that's where your miscalculations came in."

And here was where Miles and Cream came out, the rabbit standing behind the kitsune nervously as he held the camcorder in his hands.

"You expected Tai Lung to be alone, with a complete wreck of a person as his only companion," began the fox. "Your first error came here, for I pulled through for Tai Lung where everybody else would have abandoned him."

"And that's where the error comes in," continued Crane, crossing his wings in front of him. "Because Mantis and I both knew that Tai Lung was free, and we were actually trying to help him save Miles' friend."

Cream shook her head at this. "Thanks for nearly ruining my life, by the way," she added bitterly.

"So when you came in as Wang Dun with the scratch marks, we went straight to him," said Crane. "And from there, we figured out that you were living a double life."

Tai Lung glanced at him. "It seems you only failed to keep yourself afloat in the end," he said.

Everybody else nodded at this as Tan Tao simply growled angrily. "Take him to the dungeons," commanded Kublai Khan.

With this, Tigress took a hold of Tan Tao, glaring at him as she led him away. Mei Ling was a little fast to act, rubbing some more of the herbs that she had crushed earlier on Tan Tao's face as she, Tigress, and the Furious Five all walked out of the garden. Tai Xue followed at length, glare set as the group left Po, Tai Lung, Miles, Cream, and Kublai Khan standing in the garden.

Once they were alone, Tai Lung nodded to the Dragon Warrior, a smile on his face as he and Po looked at each other as something other than enemies. Tai Lung nodded, extending his hand to the panda. Po looked down at this, and a smile tugged at the end of the panda's lips before a black paw enclosed around the snow leopard's own and the two shook hands.

"Thank you for giving me a chance," said Tai Lung with a smile.

"Hey, nothing to it," Po replied. "I think you've showed us all that no one is... well, what Oogway said."

The snow leopard chuckled good-naturedly as the emperor of China stood by Po. Miles and Cream stood by Tai Lung's side as the two broke the handshake.

"So, what now?" asked Cream as she looked to the emperor. "Shifu's dead... and Tai Lung isn't exactly a criminal anymore..."

The ruler of China nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps Tai Lung can return to the Jade Pallace?" he suggested.

The Dragon Warrior shrugged, the nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds good," said Po. "What do you say to that?"

Tai Lung's eyes lit up, but he took a second glance at Miles and Cream. Cream looked rather happy to have the kitsune back by her side, but the former criminal could tell that the fox was faking the smile that greeted the other occupants of the room. Seeing this, Tai Lung looked back at Po.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline that. I don't think the people of the Valley of Peace would ever forgive me for what I did all those years ago," he said. He surprised everyone when he patted the kitsune's head. "Plus, I have a friend who needs me; I'm not going to abandon him if it means I'd become the Dragon Warrior."

At this, Miles' eyes took on a surprised glimmer as he looked up at Tai Lung, smiling. "Tai Lung...?" he asked.

"Yeah," he replied, kneeling down to the kitsune's level. "My home is with you now."

"Oh, Tai Lung!" Before anybody could object, the overjoyed fox had tackled the snow leopard to the ground, hugging him with all his might as the leopard shifted underneath him. Cream was also quite shocked to hear this, but she simply smiled at this new development. When Tai Lung looked up at Po and the emperor, he found them looking on in approval.

"So be it, then," said the emperor. "I do hope you have a way to return to the outside world after all you have been through."

Miles shrugged at this, chuckling softly. "I'm sure we can. But the question is, do we go by sea, or by land?"

"In the end, it matters not," said the emperor. "Tai Lung; whether or not you leave China, know that you are always welcome here amongst us as a hero."

"And you can also come back to the Jade Palace when you feel like it," added Po with a friendly smile.

Tai Lung stood up as Miles finally relented on the death hold he had kept on the predatory cat. The cat seemed overjoyed by this, so much so that he felt tears beginning to gather in his eyes.

"Thank you," he said. "I'm glad I managed to do something right for once."

"So, is a piece of your land beyond the great sea?" asked Kublai Khan to Cream.

"Well, I had to take a ferry ride a year ago and I haven't seen any sea since, so I think so..." she replied.

"Then we will have a grand boat carry you two back to your home along with Tai Lung," replied the emperor. "As well, we might add a grand crew to suit your needs..."

"That won't be necessary, thanks," countered Tai Lung. "The ship doesn't have to be so large, you know. I appreciate your offer, but I believe we should work with simpler means."

The bull flickered his nose before continuing. "All right then," he said. "I shall work something out with the fishermen at Hong Kong's docks. It will be a fairly long journey there..."

Po nodded, pointing to the imperial palace. "But it's still gonna be awesome!" he exclaimed.

Everybody nodded to this. "It will," said Miles. "Let's get back to the palace!"

The kitsune's newfound energy seemed to convince everyone to leave, and then everybody filed out of the garden slowly all laughing merrily. However, as he was leaving he felt a lingering glance burning into his skin. Stopping just as he and Tai Lung were about to pass through the cherry trees that bordered the garden, he found that there was a pleasant surprise to why this was when he looked to the side. Tai Lung noticed too, and he held the kitsune's hand in assurance.

Off to the side stood three spirits, all of them surrounded by the bright pink petals of a peach tree that were being manipulated by a strange kind of ethereal wind. The first was of old Master Oogway, looking on the two of them with the gentle eyes that were so vivid in Miles' dream quite a few days prior. The second was Sonic, grinning widely as he winked at his younger brother and gave a thumbs up sign. The third was Shifu, perched on Sonic's head and with a peaceful smile on his face. His eyes seemed to twinkle in approval as he looked at Tai Lung.

Both the kitsune and the snow leopard nodded, their eyes bright with nostalgia as they looked upon their fallen loved ones.

"Thank you..." muttered Miles under his breath.

And so as not to worry anybody else, Miles and Tai Lung filed out of the garden quickly, both of them catching a last glance at the spirits before leaving the place in a comfortable silence. Soon after, the spirits vanished, the rose-colored petals beginning a journey bound for heaven.


	24. Chapter 16

Okay, so Tan Tao got his ass handed to him! So after that, I'm gonna be a dick and not show you his execution.

We will, however, talk about stuff that goes down in Hong Kong. Namely, material that addresses some minor plot holes. So let's go to that!

* * *

Chapter 16

Quite a lot had happened in the past five days or so. Tan Tao had been executed to an excessively blood-thirsty crowd, his criminal empire had been taken down almost overnight, preparations had been made, and the group had gone on the three-day trek to Hong Kong to meet a boat that the imposter Wang Dun's scouts were more then welcome to arrange a trip with.

Sitting in this caravan, Tai Lung, Miles, and Cream all looked on as they walked. Tai Lung looked at the landscape, Miles and Cream both holding his hand as the kitsune and rabbit looked up at him with concern on their faces.

The kitsune turned to his female friend quickly, looking to the rabbit for approval. She nodded slowly, and then Miles pulled on Tai Lung's hand.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

Tai Lung kept his gaze trained on the landscape of oddly-shaped trees to the sides of the caravan. "Just some feelings of nostalgia, that's all," he replied. "This will probably be the last time I see scenery like this..."

Miles nodded, understanding the leopard's dilemma. "I see..." he said. "This place is really beautiful, you know. I never thought I'd ever see someplace like this..."

"Really?" asked Tai Lung, looking down at his friend. "I've always found it to be a little unremarkable."

"I don't think so," replied Cream. "Maybe it's because we're just not used to it..."

The leopard nodded. "That's probably what it is," he said. "I'm sure I'm going to be just as awed of your 'steel buildings' or whatever as you are of this landscape."

"It's all relative," replied Miles. "At least, in terms of scenery. I'm not so sure about how people relate to each other, though."

At this, Tai Lung let out a sharp, crisp laugh that brought a smile to the kitsune's face. "Not at all, Miles, not at all!" he said. "_That_ looks the exact same to me."

"And it's a good thing it is, too," added the kitsune. "Things would have ended very differently if they weren't."

Tai Lung nodded. "Indeed," he said. "You know, I wonder what your friend back home will say to you coming back..."

Miles shook his head and shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know," he said. "It's too early to tell. I hope they left my lab intact; I know I will rant at them for leaving it to decay or to be some house for some kid."

"We'll see when we get there," replied Cream.

"That we will."

And the group continued walking towards Hong Kong, everybody else caught up in their own conversations as Tai Lung and Miles looked forwards.

* * *

The group was in Hong Kong by the middle of the day. The group advanced, most people suddenly pausing at the sight of the emperor in the procession. The emperor's group simply continued on, however, and they all looked to the side. The citizens seemed to shrink back as they watched Tai Lung walking by without being bound, but when they saw that he was simply walking, a few peeked their heads out of whatever hiding spots they had found.

"Well, we're here..." said Miles.

"Yep," said Cream, nodding. "I wonder... the emperor is supposed to have a family..."

"Your point being?" asked Miles.

"Where have they been this whole time?" asked the rabbit. "I mean, they should've at least shown their faces by now..."

The emperor had silently walked up to the three of them, patting Cream on the head. This caught the rabbit by surprise.

"I sent them here when Tai Lung escaped from Chor Gohm," replied the emperor, the snow leopard looking at the ruler of China. "I wanted to make sure they were safe."

"It was a good move on your part," said Tai Lung with a nod. "Even if Tan Tao would've had to chase them out of the country, they could always find a way to survive and come back to take their throne..."

"Provided they could even escape in the first place..." replied Miles with a shrug.

"Hong Kong is a port town," replied Kublai Khan. "They would be able to find many people who would help them escape from China."

"Baba!"

At this, a few heads turned, and the group noticed a little bovine child running to the emperor. Smiling, Kublai Khan bent down, the child running right into his arms.

"Hao!" cried the emperor as he swept his son up into a hug. "It is so good to see you again."

The little bull child looked up to his father, smiling. "I missed you!"

"I missed you to, my son," said the emperor with a sweetness that Miles did not think was possible when he first met the ruler.

"My lord!" A rather stately cow came out, glancing nervously at Tai Lung before setting her eyes on the emperor. "You are all right!"

Kublai Khan looked to whom Miles presumed was his wife, and nodded. "That I am," he said.

The woman looked to Tai Lung nervously, all eyes on the ex-convict. "But what is he doing here...?" she asked.

Tai Lung simply bowed to the woman. "Milady, it's a pretty long story," he said. "But if I were here to bring harm to you or your child, believe me, I would've harmed the emperor first."

"As well, seeing as he stopped a pair of attempts on my life, it is only fair that I leave him to walk free," added the emperor.

At this, the cow reeled violently back. "Someone tried to kill you?" asked the queen suddenly. "Who?"

"You wouldn't believe who tried to kill me," replied Kublai Khan. "It was Tan Tao. Come. I shall explain on the way to the docks."

The cow glanced nervously at Tai Lung, soft blue eyes unsure of what to say before she stepped next to her husband. The group continued on to the docks then, the procession then going by with the rest of the royal family tagging along as well.

* * *

Much later in the day, the ship was ready. It was a rather small schooner that was too small to be of any importance yet large enough to provide Tai Lung, Miles, Cream, and the crew of the ship breathing room while they journeyed.

Tai Lung, Cream, and Miles were standing on the gangplank then, the three of them looking to Kublai Khan, his family, Po, and the Furious Five. The emperor stood in front of the snow leopard, crimson eyes looking into the snow leopard's amber orbs.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us in the past few days," he said. "I remind you here that if you should ever return, I will give you a hero's welcome."

"Again, it won't be necessary," replied Tai Lung. "If I do return, then I want to come back quietly."

Nodding, the snow leopard extended a paw to the emperor. The bull looked at Tai Lung with a smile on his face before extending a hand out. They shook hands slowly, the two of them breaking apart after a short period of time.

"That's how they do it where you come from, right?" asked Tai Lung to Miles.

"Yep, that's exactly how they do it where I come from!" exclaimed Miles with a broad smile on his face.

The emperor chuckled good naturedly. "May fortune be with you in all of the days of your life," he said simply.

Tai Lung nodded. "And even more upon you, milord," he said.

And with this, Cream, Miles, and Tai Lung walked on the gangplank onto the ship. They turned around then, one of the crew members pulling the gangplank onto the ship as some orders were shouted from the ship. As the ship slowly began to sail away, everybody began waving at each other.

"Take care of your family!" cried Po, directing it at Cream.

"And make good fortune be with all of you!" added Crane.

"I will!" cried the rabbit, waving back quite fervently.

And slowly, the schooner moved along, and the port town of Hong Kong slowly slipped away from their sight. As the sun was sinking, Tai Lung rested his arms against the rail separating him from the water.

"So we're going to Station Square now?" he asked. "I wonder what that's going to be like..."

"We'll see when we get there," said Miles. "For now, I know I've got people waiting for me to come home."

Tai Lung nodded, watching as the sun sank into the vast expanse of the sea.


	25. Epilogue

You guys didn't think I would end this without an epilogue, did you? Over my dead body.

All kidding aside, I bring you the epilogue of Pennance, and, unless I get any more crazy ideas, of the _Through the Looking Glass_ saga. It's been a pleasure writing this series, and I think it's actually helped me do stuff better.

So, let's close this son of a bitch, shall we?

* * *

Epilogue

**Two Months Later...**

"Land ho!"

The day was brightly lit as the call came out. Tai Lung, Miles, and Cream had been strolling around the deck hoping for a whiff of the morning air when the cry had come out. Miles heard this and looked towards the bow.

Indeed, he and Cream both saw the buildings made of steel jutting out of the land that the look-out had seen. Smiling broadly, Cream looked to Miles and Tai Lung.

"That's it!" she said. "We're home!"

"Wow..." said Miles, rubbing his shoulder as the boat came ever closer to the landmass and some steel ships came into view. "After more than two years, I never thought I'd ever return..."

"Well, we're returning," said Tai Lung as he looked at the land and then at the ships going about. "This looks like a port town itself..."

"And it's more than that too," said Cream. "Unless things have changed, it's also a town where a lot of people visit and have fun..."

The snow leopard raised an eyebrow at this. "Now what use would that be?" he asked.

"Just relaxation," replied Miles. "Trust me, you have no idea how complicated life can be in his place..."

The predatory cat nodded, looking to his canine companion and nodding. "We'll see," he said. "For now, how do we get on there?"

Miles looked back to the crew of the ship working on getting the docking gear ready.

"We'll let these guys figure it out," said the kitsune.

This answer satisfied Tai Lung, and so he smiled, thinking about what it would be like to meet Miles' friends.

* * *

The boat had parked a distance away from where the public was. The sailors were mindful of Miles' request that they enter quietly, so they had been dropped off a short distance away from Station Square. The gangplank was sturdy, and then Miles was on solid ground once again. Cream and Tai Lung followed shortly afterwards, and then they all panted.

"Dry land..." said Cream. "The rocking was beginning to get to me..."

Tai Lung turned around, looking to the captain of the ship. He nodded.

"How do you guys plan on getting back?" he asked.

"We'll have to dock anyway," replied the sea captain. "Supplies are running low. If we do wind up staying here longer, which I would think would be true what with these people being new to us, then we'll have to return to China as quickly as we can and report the news that they'll want relations. But if all goes smoothly, we'll be taking this boat back."

"All right," said Tai Lung as the gangplank was taken away. "Thank you so much for your sevices."

The captain nodded. "If you ever need anything and we are in town, you know who to talk to!"

And with this, the crew hoisted the sail open, the boat heading towards Station Square slowly. Miles, Cream, and Tai Lung waved after them for around a minute before they disappeared amongst the boats.

As soon as the boat was out of their sight, Miles nodded to Tai Lung and Cream.

"Well, let's get started, shall we?" he asked.

Cream nodded. "We've got a lot of ground to cover," she said. "Maybe we could run into Shadow and Amy at the mall?"

"The mall?" asked Tai Lung, curious.

"Oh, it's a place with a lot of shops!" replied Cream. "She likes it a lot there, so it would be a perfect place to find her."

Tai Lung shrugged at this. "Well, if you think it's a lead, by all means, lead us there!"

"All right," said the rabbit. "Come on!"

And the girl quickly led Miles and Tai Lung to where she knew the mall would be.

* * *

When the three of them entered the Station Square Mall an hour or so later, they found the place was unusually empty. Cream wondered why this was, having not seen a calendar in a while. Miles and Tai Lung followed her, the snow leopard glancing about at everybody as he felt himself getting more accustomed to seeing the faces of things he had never seen before. Glancing to and fro with nervous golden eyes, the cat followed the kitsune, he and Cream, venturing further in.

"This is unusual..." she said, glancing around. "There isn't a whole lot of activity today..."

"You mean more people come here on a daily basis?" asked Tai Lung, his voice conveying some kind of surprise.

"Yeah," said the rabbit innocently. "My mother used to take me here all the time. It's usually much more crowded than this..."

"Oh, fortune..." he said, grimacing slightly. "This place is crowded enough as it is; I would hate to be here at a bad time..."

Miles shrugged. "Thankfully, you won't be in here too often," he said. "I never came in here myself."

The three of them thus continued running around the mall, looking for any sign of anybody they knew. They had almost done a complete sweep of the entire space when Cream noticed a figure out of the corner of her eyes. Stopping, she turned her head to look over to what she had seen. Since the kitsune and leopard had been following her every move, they looked to where Cream did.

The three of them saw a bat with white fur walking around. She seemed to be donning a maternity dress, and was holding only a small purse. Next to her was a bear in the most ridiculous-looking yellow shorts Tai Lung had ever seen in his life, and he was holding what he guessed was two shopping bags full of goods. Strapped to his back was a blue rucksack in which a bird was perched, smirking down at the bear beneath her.

"It's Rouge..." said the kitsune.

"It is!" exclaimed Cream suddenly, walking over to where the bat was. Miles and Tai Lung glanced at each other, the two of them shrugging before following the rabbit over to where she was headed.

Rouge seemed to notice the rabbit coming too, for then she turned her head slightly to catch sight of the party of three. Seeing them there, her eyes lit up, the bear looking down and noticing this.

"Cream!" she said excitedly. "You've returned!"

The other four in the party seemed to smile down on them as the rabbit bowed down.

"And I managed to get him back, too!" said Cream.

Rouge did not need to be told however, for the sight of the kitsune by her seemed to tell her everything she needed to know. She came over to the kitsune, kneeling down in front of him.

"I'm back," said Miles softly, feeling regret come rushing in. "I... I'm sorry..."

"Tails, you're back!" she said, grasping his shoulders. "Amy's gonna be thrilled!"

"And your mom's gonna be thrilled too, Cream!" chimed in the male bear. "It's going to be great!"

"I just wish coward face over here could've come back sooner," quipped the bird in his rucksack.

Miles shot a glare in the breegull's direction. "I didn't think you guys cared..." he said. "I thought you'd hate me for what I did..."

Rouge shook her head, Banjo kneeling by her. "Tails, we could never hate you for what you did," she said.

"Yeah!" added the bear. "It wasn't your fault that Eggman forced you to kill him! We can't hate you for that!"

"Until you run off..." added Kazooie sardonically. "But still, it's nice to have you back."

The two-tailed fox nodded. "Hopefully, I'll stay this time," he said. "Just because."

Tai Lung was feeling a little left out by this point. Thankfully, Rouge had spotted the snow leopard out of the corner of her eye. Standing up, she looked at the man, the bear standing up as well as Miles looked over.

"And who might you be?" asked Rouge, topaz eyes examining the snow leopard.

"Oh!" said the cat, nodding and holding a hand out. "I'm Tai Lung. I'm a friend of Miles."

Upon not hearing any kind of anger coming from the kitsune, Rouge and Banjo gave each other an odd glance before looking at Tai Lung.

"That's odd," said the bear suddenly. "I thought Tails hated that name..."

The kitsune shrugged as Tai Lung blinked uncertainly. "I did, once," piped up the fox. "But now... it doesn't sound so bad..."

The bear nodded. "In that case..."

To the cat's surprise, the ursine gripped the cat's head. "I'm Banjo," he said. "And this is my wife, Rouge." He gestured to the bat. "And my friend Kazooie," he added again, pointing to the bird.

Cream's eyes seemed to bulge wide at this statement. "You... You guys actually got married?" she asked.

"It was shortly after you call with Amy," replied the bat. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you!"

"That's incredible!" said the rabbit girl.

At this, Tai Lung chuckled, shaking Banjo's hand. "So I take it you knew Miles, then," he said.

"Don't think too much of it, spot face," retorted Kazooie as she crossed her wings in front of her, red feathers seeming to glow in the lighting of the mall. "We actually only met him just before he pulled his disappearing stunt on us!"

"Kazooie!" reprimanded the bear harshly.

Tai Lung glared at the breegull, yellow eyes seeming to bore holes into her skull as he turned his attention back to Rouge. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rouge."

"Likewise," replied the former G.U.N. agent. "You guys want to sit down somewhere and talk a little? Maybe tell us why you decided to come back?"

"Sure," said the kitsune. "Food court sound good?"

"Nah," replied the bat, waving her hand. "I've got better spaces than that. Come on."

And the bat walked away, everybody following her as Tai Lung glanced at Cream uncertainly.

* * *

Rouge had taken them straight to her club, of course. Cream realized she should have seen it coming, but when they had gone into Rouge's private quarters and sat down to have a meal, the conversation had gotten great. When the food came in, Tai Lung was quite surprised when he took the first look at a cheeseburger. Looking down at it, he blinked uncertainly.

"How are you supposed to eat this thing?" he asked, pointing at it."

Miles chuckled. "You hold it in your hands and you bite into it," he replied.

Tai Lung glanced at the sandwich before picking it up nervously, his eyes examining the burger as if he was eyeing it for something suspicious.

"People here have really odd eating habits..." he said.

At this, Rouge laughed good-naturedly, Banjo chuckling. "You'll get used to it," she said.

"Besides, it can't get any worse than those people in those contests where you try to eat as much as you can," added Kazooie.

The snow leopard sent a glance at the breegull just before he was about to take a bite into his burger. "What?" he asked.

Banjo shook his head. "Now that's something that a lot of other people find wierd," he replied.

Tai Lung wrinkled his face, his whiskers dancing in the air before turning his attention back to the burger. Without hesitation, he bit into the burger, fangs sinking into the juicy meat inside. Chewing it, he nodded, closing his eyes.

"Actually, this tastes rather good," he said. "For not being good for your health, that is..."

"My cooks try their best," replied Rouge with a nod.

Cream nodded as she worked away at a salad. "So how are Amy and Shadow?"

"Oh, you came in just in time!" said Rouge, smiling. "They're getting married tomorrow."

Miles nearly sputtered, holding the glass of water he had been drinking from and nearly spraying it all over his food. He swallowed, and looked on with disbelieving eyes.

"What?" he asked, clearly shocked.

Banjo nodded at this. "Well, she felt that Shadow could make a great father figure for her twins..." he replied. "And I don't blame her. Shadow's great with the boys."

Cream smirked, rolling her eyes as she tried to envision someone who she remembered being as distant as Shadow frollicking with two blue hedgehogs. Catching Cream's drift, the kitsune smiled.

"You do have to admit, it's a pretty jarring image..." he offered with a slight chuckle.

"You would think," replied Rouge. "But I know him better than that. And I really don't think Amy could've asked for a better husband myself."

"That's good to hear," said the snow leopard as he ate his food. "So I take it I'll meet everybody else then?"

Miles nodded. "I'm sure," he said. "I was hoping I'd run into Amy and Shadow today, but I think it'll be the best thing she could ask for on her wedding day if we showed up unannounced."

"And uninvited," added Kazooie as she pecked away at some birdseed.

The bat shook her head. "Well, not really, when you think that they wouldn't object to his presence at all..." she said.

"All right," said Tai Lung, smiling at the married couple. "So, aside from you three... Who else do I get to meet?"

"It's a rather large group, so I'll just let Cream introduce you as we run around," said Rouge. "We'll try to keep you being here a surprise."

"And hey, meeting new people is always nice," added Banjo. "So when they see that Tails here did make a friend on his travels... well..."

Miles nodded, remembering the events that transpired in the Devil's Mouth before they had rescued Cream. "And one whose friendship saved both of us, no less..." he added.

The snow leopard nodded in agreement. "I'm thankful I ran into him," he said. "I hope Sonic appreciated the fact that he had such a dedicated friend by his side while he was still alive."

"I'm sure he did," said Banjo, standing up and taking some of the empty plates to the sink.

"If he didn't, he's getting a piece of my mind when I meet him in the afterlife," replied the cat, unsheathing his claws with a smirk.

Rouge, Miles, and Cream all chuckled at this, Kazooie glancing nervously to the side. Nodding, the bat stood up. "Well, tomorrow's going to be a busy day for the bride-to-be, so I think we should turn in early."

"Ten bucks says spot face is gonna get the floor!" shouted the breegull.

"Kazooie!"

* * *

The next day, Cream, Miles, and Tai Lung had all risen rather early. The three of them, along with Rouge, Banjo, and Kazooie, had all gotten up in some fairly nice clothes (even if Banjo had to go clothes hunting for Tai Lung), and they were walking over to the chapel slowly. Miles seemed a little nervous as they moved, and as soon as he saw the cross up in the air, he turned to Tai Lung.

"Hey, you'll be fine," he said. "I'm sure these people will be overly glad to see you again."

"They will," added Rouge. "Don't worry."

"Still, I have some doubts about what is going to happen..." replied Miles. "It can go any direction, you know."

"Hey, they never would've let me go on my own if they hadn't forgiven you..." pointed out Cream. "Think of it that way."

Miles looked on uncertainly, walking towards the chapel and suddenly noticing that they were the first ones to arrive. "Hey, where's everybody else?" he asked suddenly.

Banjo chuckled. "We thought it might be a good idea if you got to talk to the bride before anybody else did..."

The kitsune nodded, understanding. "Well, that takes some stress off," he said softly.

"You better believe it," replied the red breegull. "Now let's pick it up here. Heart skin's been waiting for a moment like this forever!"

With these words ringing in his ears, the kitsune adjusted the tux jacket he was wearing to calm his nerves, and when they entered the chapel, he took a deep breath.

* * *

She was in the dressing room, tending to her quills when Miles found her place within the chapel. The white dress had already been put on, and from where he stood the kitsune could make out a smile on her lips. She had not noticed the kitsune entering, and so Miles, Cream, and Tai Lung all entered slowly. Rouge, Banjo, and Kazooie had stayed outside, hoping to give them some time.

"Amy...?" asked Miles, uncertain of how to begin.

One of the hedgehog's ears twitched suddenly, and then she turned her head, emerald eyes looking onto the kitsune.

"Tails...?" she asked. "Am I...?"

"No," he said simply, shaking his head.

At this, the pink hedgehog almost jumped out of her chair, but she tackled the kitsune, the two of them winding up in a heap on the ground at Tai Lung and Cream's feet.

"Tails, you're back! You're back!" she cried, sobbing tears of joy as she hugged Miles tight.

"Amy... need... air..." wheezed out the fox.

Thankfully, Amy had gotten onto her knees for the fox to sit back up. "It's been so long..." she said, shaking her head. "Tails..."

"Amy..." replied the kitsune. "I'm sorry. For everything."

The pink hedgehog simply shook her head, reaching a hand out and patting Miles on the head as a tear slipped down her cheek. "That doesn't matter," she said. "You're finally back. And that's more than I could've asked for today. It... It made this day so much better..."

The kitsune smiled softly, nodding. "Thank you," he said. "For forgiving me..."

"It was never your fault," she said, patting his shoulder. "Just, where's Cream?"

"Right here!" piped up the rabbit.

Amy and Miles both stood up, the hedgehog looking down at Cream. "Oh, you're here too!" she said. "You're going to have to meet my sons!"

Cream giggled at this. "I'd love to meet them!" she exclaimed.

It was then that Amy noticed Tai Lung's presence in the room. Emerald eyes glancing over the snow leopard, she smiled.

"Oh!" she said. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Tai Lung," replied the snow leopard, bowing politely. "I'm a friend of.... of Tails here..."

Miles blinked uncertainly. "That's the first time you've ever referred to me by that name," he said.

"Hey, it's a catchy name," replied the snow leopard jokingly. "Has a ring to it..."

Amy giggled, figuring things out. "I'm Amy Rose," she introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, Tai Lung."

"Same here," he said. "I hope I get to meet the husband-to-be sometime today."

"Oh, trust me, you'll meet him," replied Amy. "He's been getting a lot more social since he began helping me with the children."

Miles laughed. "Speaking of which..." he said. "How much like Sonic are they?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "They're exact matches," she said. "Already I can tell they've got his free spirit."

"That's great," said the kitsune. "I can't wait to meet them."

"They'll be ecstatic to meet their Uncle Tails, that's for sure," said the pink hedgehog.

With a laugh, the group then continued to converse before the wedding.

* * *

And from behind a clouded veil of water, three figures were watching in a vast expanse of empty sky sitting over a layer of clouds. Spirits were flying freely to and fro, but at the foot of one of the wells into the mortal world, Sonic, Shifu, and Oogway all watched the events unfold.

"So he did go home after all..." said the blue hedgehog. "That's great!"

"I can only imagine," added Shifu, nodding. "I wonder how Tai Lung must be feeling about having set foot in a new world..."

"Eh, he'll get used to it," replied Sonic. "Tails is the greatest friend a guy could ask for, honest."

"They have both found their redemption," said Oogway. "All that is left is to adjust to the new life, and all shall be well again."

The other two nodded, smiling down on the scene.

"I'm just glad Tails finally went back home," said Sonic.

"Destiny has been fulfilled," observed the red panda. "Now the rest is up to them."

Looking down as the four people continued to converse, the three of them knew that things would stay much like that for quite some time afterwards.

* * *

**Das Ende**

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* * *

**

A/N: *exhale*

And with that, I end the TTLG saga until the plot bunnies attack again. Thanks to all those who reviewed and all that shebang!

-Herr Wozzeck


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